Winery fined $50,000 for water take

A winery that deliberately took water from a river in breach of water restrictions has been fined $50,000.

Morton Estate Ltd pleaded guilty in Hastings Environment Court yesterday to three charges of taking water outside its resource consent conditions.

The company, which has vineyards in Hawke's Bay and Marlborough, produces about 200,000 cases of wine a year.

The offences happened last summer at the company's Mangatahi and Matapiro vineyards beside the Ngaruroro River, west of Hastings.

The vineyards take water from wells near the river, subject to restrictions when it runs at low levels.

During a dry period in early 2009, Hawke's Bay Regional Council announced water-take bans on the river and informed both vineyards' managers.

The managers asked to take more water to protect their vines, but were told they could not.

Despite the bans, the Matapiro vineyard used 17,408 cubic metres of water between January 28 and February 11, while the Mangatahi vineyard used 3723 cubic metres over the week of February 3-9.

Winery lawyer Magnus Macfarlane said the managers acted outside company policy but were only trying to protect "their babies", the vines.

The convictions would be a "black mark" against the winery's name and would affect its branding, he said.

The amount of water taken was "a tiny proportion of what was available" and "considerably less than 1 per cent" of the flow at the time.

The managers thought that, if they breached the ban, they might be liable for an infringement fee of $500 to $750.

Judge Craig Thompson said the council had "expressly informed the managers of the two properties that a ban was in place". The managers took water in a "deliberate flouting of a perfectly well known restriction" and "in face of a clear warning". The restrictions were set to protect the aquatic environment and ensure other users also had water.

He understood the managers' willingness to foster and protect their vines, but the fact they broke the law thinking they might receive only an infringement notice "does not impress me at all". In terms of a fine, the council had suggested a starting point of $20,000 on each water ban breach charge.

The judge said he felt that was generous. A higher figure would provide more of a deterrent.

"If the fine is too low, it will be regarded as minor licence fee."

He imposed a $20,000 fine on each charge and added a further fine of $10,000 for a charge of taking more water than consented at the Mangatahi vineyard during the week ending January 26, 2009.

Ad Feedback The maximum fine for each charge was $200,000. This was increased to $600,000 for any offences committed after last October.

Winery spokeswoman Fiona MacDiarmid said the company did not wish to comment.

Council compliance manager Bryce Lawrence said other vineyards stored water to allow them to get through dry periods. Companies needed to have business plans that accounted for low river flows.

It was the first time a firm had been prosecuted for breaching a Hawke's Bay water ban. Several had been issued infringement notices. "It's a reflection that there is a lot more pressure on water resources."