Water quality has been in the headlines many times this year, as more intensive farming puts pressure on the resource.
A recent report released by the Ministry for the Environment compared the water quality at 35 sites on 77 rivers throughout the country and ranked them accordingly.
In Otago and Southland, the Taieri River and Mataura River regularly appeared among the more poorly ranked rivers, yet the Clutha River was considered to have "very good" water quality.
Otago Regional Council summer freshwater recreational monitoring also highlighted water quality issues on the Taieri especially at Outram.
Council environmental information and science director John Threlfall said, on the whole, Otago had good water quality, but there were rivers which caused concern.
"Water quality in the region is not as bad as some make it out to be - there is scope to clean it up over the next few years."
Where there were water quality issues, they were usually associated with intensive agriculture and in some cases, such as on the Taieri, it had been an issue for many years, he said.
"Any river will show deteriorating water quality after rain."
Some types of soil, such as the tile-drained land in South West Otago, struggled to cope with effluent run-off and as a result the Pomahaka River was one of the most polluted, especially in its lowest reaches.
Other areas in Otago were also facing changing land use to more intensive methods, such as in the Manuherikia and Maniototo.
"We are very conscious of that and are working with farmers to try and protect their waterways."
Although many people were concerned about water quality, to achieve it there would need to be a "big trade-off" between economic development and environmental quality, he said.
"If you look at Otago, some areas with deteriorating water quality have coincidentally massive changes in land use, which have brought a lot more money to the community and region."
It was a very delicate balance between the two, and the national situation had to be taken into consideration, Mr Threlfall said.
The council would have to evaluate the level of trade-off the community would find acceptable, he said.
To do that the community would be consulted.
"Some rivers are essentially pristine and we want them to stay that way, but some are under pressure and they may not want them to become pristine. There will be some variation across the region in water quality."
Urban streams and rivers would also face the same consideration, but it would be a "big job" to fix, he said.
The Dunedin City Council confirmed in October contaminants were washing off the hill suburbs through the stormwater system into Otago Harbour and the beaches.
The regional council has proposed policy changes to its water plan for non-point pollution [pollution coming from stock effluent and fertilisers].
The idea was to move towards an end-result system, instead of telling people what they could do with their land.
"It'll be the land manager who'll make that decision. We won't care, as long as the waterway is protected."
The council was also undertaking water studies on the likes of the Pomahaka and Manuherikia Rivers to provide baseline information.
Fish and Game Otago chief executive Niall Watson said Otago had a serious problem in terms of water quality with heavy pressure on rivers and streams from water takes.
"In Otago we are very lucky to have many headwater waterways with high water quality, but it hasn't been good management, more of an accident of nature," Mr Watson said.
"We cannot afford to be complacent. We really do need to get stuck into the poor and deteriorating water quality."
At the moment agencies were skirting around the edges of the problem with good practical measures "which, while no-one argues are worthwhile, are not making a difference in terms of stopping the decline or improving water quality problems" he said.
"We've been slow to pick up on the fact our management regimes are not adequate across the country."
Central government had taken little interest in water quality and local government had been reluctant to get right into it, he said.
"There are signs regional councils are getting to grips with the seriousness of the problem."
In Otago, the regional council had acknowledged a problem and proposed a solution "so we are pleased about that".
Although dairy farming was highly profitable, farmers' emphasis on environmental management was poor.
"Until the same effort is made to manage waste as they do to produce milk, we're in trouble."
Fish and Game environmental officer John Hollows said more and more pressure was going on waterways, but the technology to lessen the impact was not available yet.
"There will never be pristine waterways in lowland areas, or urban streams for that matter."
He thought achieving water conditions adequate for swimming in was not too high a goal to aim for.
Some areas of Otago should not be used for dairy farming as their soil types were unsuitable, such as the tile-drained soils of South West Otago, he said.
Many of those catchments might have been able to cope with one or two intensive farms, but the effect was cumulative when a catchment was dominated by such farms.
However, there were some positives such as the Upper Taieri Water Users Group, in which all involved sat down and talked out the issues, he said.
Federated Farmers Otago president Mike Lord said most farmers wanted what everyone else did - rivers you were able to swim in and possibly even "dip their billy in to boil up without it killing you".
But what was realistic and achievable as populations and demand for food grew, was the question, he said.
"It's all about getting the balance right."
Farmers had made huge advances in improving their farming practice in recent years, as what was acceptable for dealing with issues, such as effluent, changed.
Farmers could not argue they were unaware of the council's intentions, Mr Lord said.
The regional council had warned farmers and some faced prosecution as a result.
The non-point pollution proposals were interesting, but until there were the tools to measure run-off, it was hard to work out the implications, he said.
He hoped farmers, Fish and Game and the regional council would now be able to work together to find better solutions to the issues.
Nevertheless, farming was not the only contributor to the problem.
People were just as much, if not more, of a problem as animals, he said.
Urban streams and waterways were also in bad condition.
"We all need to buck up our ideas."
Water in Otago
94% of all water used in Otago is for hydro-electric generation.
6% for consumption.
Of that: 77% is for irrigation. 5% for urban use such as DCC's Deep Stream and Deep Creek. The rest for stock and industrial uses.
Monitoring
ORC monitors water quality each summer at popular marine and freshwater bathing sites.
In 2007-08, 11 sites complied with guidelines in 80% of samples.
Kaka Point and Macandrew Bay both had one non-compliance.
Most sites exceeded guideline levels on three or fewer occasions (Manuherikia at Galloway, Taieri at Waipiata and Waikouaiti at Bucklands).
Taieri River at Outram regularly breached guideline bacteria levels. Most of the time, the Kakanui at Clifton Falls was close to breaching limits.
Source: Otago Regional Council
