Managing farm run off - Environment Waikato

How you can reduce contaminated runoff to rivers -

• Form a StreamCare group with your neighbours to discuss and implement better land management practices to protect your local river or stream.
• Prevent stock access to riverbanks.
• Protect wet areas, seeps and bogs from stock, to allow them to filter contaminants from runoff before it reaches waterways.
• Use fertilisers and chemicals responsibly. Check out the New Zealand Fertiliser Manufacturer’s Research Association Code of Practice (Code of Practice) for fertiliser use, especially when close to waterways.
• Make sure dairyshed effluent irrigators are operating effectively and are moved frequently to prevent ponding and runoff.
• Avoid break-feeding or mob-stocking close to riverbanks, especially in wet weather.

Planting of riverbank margins or riparian strips can be an effective way to reduce the impact of runoff on waterways.

• Planted strips act as buffers, soaking up runoff before it reaches the river and filtering out nutrients such as nitrogen.
• Planting also helps stabilise riverbanks, preventing erosion and therefore sediment runoff to the river.

Riverbank plants also shade the water and keep its temperature lower, which makes a better habitat for the plants and animals living in the river.

http://www.ew.govt.nz/environmental-information/Land-and-soil/Managing-Land-and-Soil/Managing-farm-runoff/