“News item misreported the situation”: Dairying not to blame for camp norovirus
Dairy farmers Steven and Marie Bennett installed this cow underpass two years ago. Now they’re upgrading their effluent system and putting in a new Class 1 bridge across the Onekaka Stream.
Claims associating dairying with permanent closure of the Golden Bay Holiday Park at Tukurua on April 15 are being strongly refuted by the local branch of Federated Farmers.
Last Thursday (15 April), a TV One News item reported that Escherichia coli found in the Tukurua Stream was from animal faeces, and that the local council wasn’t ruling out dairying further upstream.
A recent microbial source test taken on 24 March indicated contamination by “extremely high levels” of fecal coliforms and also E. coli. No human input markers were detected in the test, which rules out leakage from septic tanks. Tasman District Council investigations are continuing.
Camp owner Bob Perriam was quoted on the newscast as saying, “Although I recognise farming as extremely important nationally, it is having a detrimental effect to the local economy here.”
This recent accusation comes despite the District Health Board’s public confirmation in January that norovirus was behind the month-long outbreak of gastroenteritis among hundreds of summer campers at the Golden Bay Holiday Park. Positive results on specimens from campers followed norovirus reference laboratory tests at Environmental Science and Research (The Nelson Mail, 30 Jan). Dr Ed Kiddle, medical officer of health, said the rapid spread around the camp was deemed to be by person-to-person contact, supported by the fact that the camp’s drinking water was specifically tested for norovirus and came back negative.
Newspaper reports at the time carried campers’ comments that sanitation facilities at the camp appeared to be lacking.
The renewed claims of dirty dairying don’t stack up, said local Federated Farmers representative Michelle Riley.
“Increasingly, dairy farmers are being blamed for poor water quality even when the facts are not conclusive or a combination of factors could be contributing. That news item misreported the situation. TDC compliance officers have told me and the owners of the dairy farm adjacent to the stream that norovirus was the cause of sickness in the campers over summer. This cannot be transmitted by cattle. Rather it’s highly contagious and its dramatic spread was caused by poor hygiene and/or facilities. The TVNZ reporter contacted TDC and was told this but clearly chose to ignore the facts.
“I also find the attitude of the camp owner extremely disappointing in that he neither contacted his neighbours nor anyone in the farming industry in the Bay to voice his concerns. Dairy farmers in the Bay have been extremely successful in working collaboratively with other industries, including aquaculture, as well as council staff to achieve high water quality standards. Dairying continues to be a huge contributor to our local economy, the income generated on farms ‘recycles’ many times through the pockets of our community. Knocking it with unsubstantiated allegations is not constructive to anyone.”
Steven and Marie Bennett run the only dairy farm up the Tukurua Stream, and feel the comments made about “dirty dairying” on national television pointed the finger undeservedly at them.
“It wasn’t fair,” said Steven. “Not only do we hardly ever take our cows over to that side of the farm, but our dry stock numbers are much less than what we used to run over there. Two years ago, we spent almost a $100,000 putting in a cow underpass under the highway. Now we’re currently installing a ‘weeping wall’ to upgrade our effluent system, and next month we’re installing a Class One bridge across the Onekaka Stream so our cows don’t have to ford it anymore. It’s just disappointing when people make unfair comments like this when you’re trying your best and working as fast as you can to comply with all the regulations.”
TDC said it is still investigating the alleged pollution in the Tukurua stream, which “appears to have cleared a little”. It has been monitoring the waterway since a private resident had its water tested in mid-January.
Gerard Hindmarsh
