Cattle along the banks of the Tukituki River, near Havelock North, could be a source of contamination. Photo / Paul Taylor
Although the Tukituki River is unlikely to be the cause of the Havelock North water contamination, a Hawke's Bay regional councillor says the scrutiny placed on it recently highlights a much larger issue.
Earlier this week the regional council said it was very unlikely E. coli in the Tukituki River had caused the contamination of Havelock North's water supply.
Despite this, incumbent councillor Tom Belford said the bigger picture was that the river was filled with pollutants, yet "is a source of recharge for an aquifer which provides drinking water for the public".
"This is something that has been going on, that continues to go on. There's no question that the river is a source of recharge and whatever nutrients, or pollutants, or contaminants are in that water will find their way into the aquifer," he said.
Photos of cows wading in the river publicised recently provided a "vivid illustration" to where contaminants came from, he said. Although they might not be the cause of the gastro outbreak, it signified an attitude toward what kind of protection was needed.
Part of this could come through the Regional Council's Plan Change 6, which means by 2020, all rivers and streams in the Tukituki catchment must be fenced. He said the plan needed to be implemented "with some vigour", although measurable effects on the river would be years down the track.
He said people would no longer tolerate the river being used as a "drain for farmers".
"If we build a dam in this catchment that's going to add to more intensified farming with more run-off," he said.
With more intensification, the prospect of infiltration of water into the aquifer would increase, and he said council needed to be mindful of what land use was permitted around aquifers.
In the longer term a more robust testing regime and monitoring programme was also needed, as councils in Hawke's Bay had developed a "laissez-faire attitude" about protecting aquifers.
Council chairman Fenton Wilson said clearly the key issue that mattered right now was sorting out the Havelock North water supply for the people of Havelock North.