Tarras resident Billee Marsh told the hearing yesterday the Lindis Catchment Group (LCG), representing irrigators using Lindis River water, was only ''a very small portion'' of the Tarras community.
Making the point, Ms Marsh produced a hand-drawn map showing 178 houses.
Of those, 35 belonged to members of the Lindis Catchment Group she said, 116 belonged to owners whose income came from non-farming activities, and 27 belonged to farmers who extracted water from sources other than the Lindis River.
''It would be wrong to assume that the Tarras community and the LCG hold the same views.
''The Lindis irrigators always included the 'Tarras community' in the same sentence when expressing what they (the irrigators) supported.
''It was wrong to assume that they had the support of all of the community.
''In truth there are strongly held opposing views within this community.
''When attending meetings or social events within the Tarras community, the subject of water is never mentioned due to the likelihood of it causing heated arguments among those with polarising views and this would in turn create tension and cause rifts.
''We all opt to discuss safe topics when at community events and instead use official avenues to express our strong held views, through submissions and hearings.''
Ms Marsh said it was important to recognise the transformation of Tarras from mostly farming households to households whose income was from other occupations.
She lamented the dry state of the lower part of the river during summer and how that impacted on swimming and other leisure activities.
Ms Marsh believed the Clutha River was a better source of irrigation water and described the failure of a proposal by Tarras Water Ltd, which would have piped water from the Clutha, as a ''squandered opportunity'' for Lindis irrigators to future proof their farming using a reliable water source.
She believed the minimum flow level of 550 litres per second sought by the LCG would result in a ''loss of amenity, social and natural character values''.
