The following day he saw more pools of effluent on the same stretch of the rural road.
"It was a sea of slush along the side of the road the next day.
"Remember, this stuff will eventually drain into Lake Rotorua."
The blame did not lay solely with the truck companies or farmers, he said.
"The issue is the lack of effluent stations which is not being addressed by regional council.
"The authorities have turned a blind eye - there's very few places truckies can dump the waste."
A Commercial Vehicle Investigation Unit spokesman said there were two discharge stations in the greater Rotorua region - on State Highway 2 near Opotiki, and State Highway 5, at Fitzgerald Glade.
By law, truck drivers can only be prosecuted if they discharge effluent when their truck is empty of stock, he said.
Regular road checks at Te Ngae weigh station had alleviated the issue, he said.
"Transport companies are pretty aware that they will be checked."
Rotorua Taupo Federated Farmers sharemilkers' spokesman John Butterworth said truck drivers can empty holding tanks on dairy farms if they seek owners' permission.
"It's quite a contentious issue although not a common problem," he said.
"It's more apparent around this time of year when more stock than normal is being moved."
Federated Farmers had discussed with the regional council about building more roadside stations, he said.
A local transport operator said authorities "appeared to have buried their heads in the sand" over the issue.
Farmers who did not 'empty' standing stock before they were trucked were also to blame.
"Truckies are left with two options - either spread it onto the side of the road, which is not illegal, or let it to flow out the back of the truck."
Bay of Plenty Regional Council transport manager Gary Maloney said the RCA had no immediate plans to build more dump stations nearer to Rotorua.
Effluent Discharge Procedures: (Source: Federated Farmers)
On-Farm:
- Only accept or receive effluent from own stock, or from stock to be integrated into existing herd.
- Do not accept effluent from unknown or mixed sources.
- Do not accept effluent unless assured holding tanks empty before the stock loaded.
- Check holding tanks empty before loading stock.
- No deer effluent.
- No regulations to prevent farmers receiving effluent from stock truck holding tanks.
- Effluent can be discharged onto the dairy yard, or within 45m of the milking area, milk receiving area and milk storage area if area is concrete or a sealed surface, and it must be hosed down.
- All drains must be flushed with clean water, any spillages on to grass or the surrounding area cleaned up.
- Effluent must be discharged from the truck and onto the land in accordance with council policies, rules and consent conditions.
