A Waikato farm manager has been convicted, fined $5000 and sentenced to 140 hours’ community work for the unlawful discharge of dairy effluent into a drain network in May 2024.

Hamilton District Court Judge Melinda Dickey released her judgement on 13 May 2025, convicting Vernon Paul Madeley on a charge filed under the Resource Management Act by Waikato Regional Council.

In May 2024, council officers responded to a complaint about dairy effluent in the rural drainage system near Turua, on the Hauraki Plains. Officers inspected a farm where they found an effluent irrigator had stalled causing effluent to flow into a nearby drain. This drain was part of a network designed to discharge into the Waihou River, north of the Turua township.

Inquiries established that the travelling irrigator had come to the end of its run and had been left to irrigate in the same location for up to a week. The defendant stated he was aware the irrigator had come to the end of its run but had simply not got around to shifting it in that week.

In sentencing, Judge Dickey said: “I find the defendant was highly careless because he knew there was an issue and did nothing to address it. The fix was simple – the irrigator needed to be moved in a timely manner and was not.”

Patrick Lynch, Waikato Regional Council’s Regional Compliance Manager, said: “This is a well set up dairy farm where money has been invested in upgrading effluent infrastructure over recent years. This case highlights the fact that good infrastructure must also be well managed throughout the season to avoid causing environmental harm.”

“We encourage all farmers to have documented Effluent Management Plans for their farm effluent systems and to ensure all employees and contractors working on their farms are aware of their responsibilities.”

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