Dairy farmers urged to test water

Clutha Development's Hamish Anderson is asking dairy farmers to start testing the water on their properties to meet the Otago Regional Council's new 2020 water standards.

Mr Anderson attended the third Clutha Valley Lions Southern Region Dairy Expo at Clydevale yesterday, to spread the word.

Clutha Development was one of 105 paid stalls at the biennial expo that attracted more than 500 people.

Mr Anderson said the Clutha district had

''most of the degraded rivers'' in Otago and farmers had five years to meet new stringent standards for the quality of water as it left their property.

''There's no point in testing six months before you've got to turn it around. You're too late. It takes a while.''