A farming company has been convicted and fined $41,850 after a Reporoa stream was found to be "flowing green with effluent".
Judge Melanie Harland convicted and fined Bella Ridge Farms Ltd in the Rotorua District Court this week for discharging a large volume of dairy effluent from a farm into the Mangatete Stream.
The prosecution was brought by Waikato Regional Council after it was contacted by a member of the public who reported that the Mangatete Stream was "flowing green with effluent".
The council estimated that approximately 450cu m of dairy effluent had been lost into the environment in November 2016. This is the equivalent of 17 truck and trailer units full of effluent, it said.
The volume was such that it was able to be detected 8km downstream at Lake Ohakuri.