56,000km of fences to protect waterways

The Government's new fresh water reforms will see the erection of 56,000km of fences to protect waterways from stock.

The Government's new fresh water reforms will see the erection of 56,000km of fences, enough to go around the world one and a half times, to protect waterways from stock according to Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy.

The new rules on stock exclusion were part of the government's plans, announced last week, setting a target of 90 per cent of rivers and lakes being swimmable by 2040.

"Farmers have made huge progress in recent years to improve their environmental practices, and this will be another important step forward," Mr Guy said.

"Dairy farmers have already voluntarily fenced off around 96 per cent of their waterways, more than 24,000km, but we know that stock standing in or regularly crossing waterways can do significant damage, and we want to extend this (protection) to other types of farms as well.

"The proposed national regulation will ensure that dairy cattle, beef cattle, pigs and deer are kept out of waterways, but we need to ensure the changes are practical for farmers, so the exclusions will be implemented in a staged process starting this year through to 2030, depending on the stock type and land slope."

The reforms would deliver long-term benefits for the primary industries and wider economy, he added.

Overseas markets and consumers increasingly demanded a strong environmental performance over and above regulatory requirements.

"No single organisation or group is solely responsible for improving our water quality, and meeting the target will take a collective effort, but the primary industries have a key contribution to make," Mr Guy said.

"As a government we are committed to growing the primary industries at the same time as improving water quality. Water storage schemes like Central Plains Water and the Waimea community dam help in this by taking pressure off groundwater sources and maintaining summer river flows, delivering both economic and environmental benefits."