12 Sep 2011

Shift in focus for water management

2:46 pm on 12 September 2011

Regional councils are starting to look beyond the Clean Streams dairy farming accord to focus attention on water management on other types of farms as well.

Greater Wellington Regional Council is one of those taking a broader approach with a new guide on stock access to water.

Chairperson Fran Wilde says the guidelines were developed with industry organisations and include hill-country farms.

Ms Wilde says uncontrolled stock access to waterways can cause water pollution and sedimentation.

She says hill-country farms are prone to soil erosion, causing slips and loss of nutrients into waterways, and the guidelines show ways to manage that.

Federated Farmers' Wairarapa president Paul McGill says farmers can choose the solution that best suits them from the guidelines, such as fencing, providing shade away from water and providing water troughs.

A Wairarapa Farm Environment Awards winner, Ray Craig, says most farmers work hard to keep waterways clean and he thinks they will be able to meet the guidelines.