Farmers in the Lauder district are challenging a 15-year consent to spread treated Wanaka waste on farmland above a shallow water table.

Anna Gillespie, president of Federated Farmers Otago, says the non-notified consent has caused concern since spreading began. Soil water sits about 1.5m to 2m below the surface, raising the risk of contamination reaching house and stock water.

She says E. coli levels have been reported at up to 6500 times water-quality guidelines, and heavy metals including cadmium.

“The community are just saying to me, every day I get a message asking ‘can you please stop it’,” she says.

CountryWide CONNECT with Andy Thompson & Sarah Perriam-Lampp is our daily rural show livestreamed from 11am-1pm. Visit country-wide.co.nz on how to watch/listen or download the CountryWide CONNECT mobile app, available on Apple iOS and Android.

AI-Assisted Content