Bay of Plenty kiwifruit orchardists fined for illegal water takes

Five orchardists have been prosecuted and fined nearly $200,000 over the last two kiwifruit seasons for illegally taking more than 100 million litres of water.

All pleaded guilty to charges relating to the unlawful takes at their orchards, Bay of Plenty Regional Council said in a statement.

Council regulatory compliance manager Matt Harrex said resource consents provided important protection to the natural environment and the orchardists had ignored this requirement.

“Clamping down on illegal water takes has been a significant focus for regional council for the past 10 years.

Five Bay of Plenty kiwifruit orchardists have been prosecuted and fined. Photo / NZME

“We’ve spent a lot of time working with industry to educate growers that anything above the daily permitted water take requires resource consent.”

He said for the most part, growers were doing the right thing with more than 1000 resource consents to take water granted over the last decade.

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“Depending on variables such as soil, rainfall and field capacity, at least 40 cubic metres of water may be required each day to irrigate one hectare of kiwifruit canopy in the heat of summer.”

This was more than the permitted 35 cubic metres per day.

“Orchards are generally a lot bigger than one hectare, so it’s always disappointing to come across those that are aware of the need to apply for resource consent but have made a conscious decision to take the water anyway,” Harrex said.

In the Woodlands Orchards sentencing decision, the judge said the increasing demand for water in the Bay of Plenty was placing pressure on streams, rivers, springs and groundwater.

“Over-abstraction of groundwater can degrade groundwater quality and reduce water levels in aquifer systems and associated surface waterbodies,” he said.

Court cases

Recent prosecutions by Bay of Plenty Regional Council for illegal water takes:

• February 2, 2024: Maniatutu Heights Ltd, total fine of $33,500 for taking almost 8 million litres more than permitted.
• November 29. 2023: Woodland Orchards Ltd, total fine of $42,000 for taking more than 24 million litres more than permitted.
• November 29, 2023: Peter Stewart Holdings Ltd, total fine of $42,000 for taking more than 25 million litres more than permitted.
• December 13, 2023: David Grant Thomas, total fine of $42,000 for taking about 26 million litres more than permitted.
• November 10, 2023: Terahu Orchard Ltd, total fine of $35,000 for taking about 18 million litres more than permitted.