Public hearings on a bid to protect New Zealand's largest freshwater springs have begun in Golden Bay.
More than 2000 submissions were made on an application to grant Te Waikoropupu Springs and the waters around it the highest level of environmental protection.
Ngāti Tama kaumatua John Ward-Holmes says his generation alone has been working "30, 40 years to protect this taonga".
"The scientists tell us the water's 10 years old when it comes out here. So our fear is if something's going wrong further up the aquifer, if it's getting polluted in any way, by the time we find out about it, the damage is done".
The iwi and Golden Bay resident Andrew Yuill are behind the Water Conservation Order (WCO). There are 15 WCOs nationwide covering rivers and lakes. This is the first application advanced for a springs.
"The nitrate levels in the Main Springs and Fish Creek Springs are about 10 per cent higher this year than last year," Mr Yuill said during his address at the first public hearing.
The applicants want to prohibit new water consents and the discharge of contaminants near waters which could affect the purity of the springs. That includes three aquifers, and a number of rivers and streams.
Golden Bay dairy farmer Nigel Harwood says he supports protection measures for the springs, but the scope of the application is too broad and is based on flawed science.
"We think it will make application of say, dairy effluent, from the shed nearly impossible in the future. Which possibly, if you take that to the extreme, would be the end of dairy farming in the bay".
Twenty-six farming families live and work in the affected area. Mr Harwood says their ongoing environmental efforts have been disregarded.
"We are 100 per cent riparian planted. I don't think you can go to many places in Golden Bay and not see a fenced off dairy farm," he said.
Major corporations including Fonterra and Trustpower will present evidence to a tribunal over the next three weeks.
A final decision will be made by the Environment Minister.
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