Friday, March 29, 2024

Farmers unite to clean up their river

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Farmer Simon O’Meara was horrified when he learnt of the poor quality of the Pomahaka River. The Otago Regional Council was not best pleased either and its message couldn’t have been clearer: either the community sorted it out or the council would.
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O’Meara, Lloyd McCall and a group of like minded farmers who lived in the catchment decided to act and were given till 2020 to improve the water quality.

Nearly two years ago they formed the group Pathway for the Pomahaka and O’Meara said they had arrested the continued decline in water quality and hoped to now start making improvements based on information they had collected.

The Pomahaka flowed from the Umbrella Mountains behind Roxburgh in central Otago and ran 98km southeast through Heriot, Tapanui and Clydevale before joining the Clutha River near Balclutha.

There were about 360 farmers in the 2000km square catchment and O’Meara, who farmed at Wilden near Heriot, said most of the Pomahaka water quality issues originated in tributaries.

Together with the Landcare Trust, Beef + Lamb NZ, DairyNZ, forestry companies and farmers, the group did its own water monitoring in addition to that done by the council to determine the main causes of degradation.

“The basis is to find out what is going on, to test tributaries alongside the regional council but at different spots,” O’Meara said.

“You drive down the road and you see farmers have put up live strands along waterways during winter grazing.”

Simon O’Meara

Pomohaka Water Care Group

“We are building up a picture of what time of the year problems occur, whether winter crops put sediment into the river or fertiliser ending up in waterways after autumn application or run-off from dung and urine.”

Initial findings showed an issue with sediment run-off following spring cultivation which was a relatively easy issue to fix.

The group advertised seasonal reminders such as fencing waterways on winter crop paddocks and other advice would emerge from further water analysis.

The change in farmers’ attitude had been just as important.

They were defensive two years ago and there was some animosity towards the council but now farmers willingly talked about water quality and were taking their own action.

“You drive down the road and you see farmers have put up live strands along waterways during winter grazing.”

Others had spent vast sums on effluent storage, irrigation systems and riparian fencing and planting.

The group had now transformed into the Pomahaka Water Care Group, aiming to have the river recognised as having the highest quality water and being a pristine environment for swimming and fishing.

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