Fish and Game posted this photograph on Twitter of cattle getting "free access" to Canterbury's Lake Taylor.

A South Island farm owned by Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias has been complained about before, with witnesses describing repeated incidents of cattle and sheep wading in lakes.

A past complainant described the farmer as "riding roughshod" over the concerns of other people using the area, and witnessed a "disturbing amount of cow s..." in another lake at the property.

Holidaymaker Allan Brown photographed cattle drinking in Lake Taylor, about 50 kilometres northwest of Hawarden, last week. He had since lodged a complaint with Environment Canterbury (ECan).

SUPPLIED Cows were seen in Matukituki Valley over the new year period, one of many reports of stock in waterways.

His picture, which had been widely shared online, showed the animals were on Lakes Station land.

READ MORE: Top judge's cattle snapped in lake

Elias and her businessman husband, Hugh Fletcher, were the majority owners of the 5000-hectare high country farm.

Fletcher told RNZ he let the cows into the lake on hot days, but their access was not continuous.

It was the latest in nearly 500 complaints made to Environment Canterbury (ECan) about stock in the region's waterways in the last five years.

Official documents showed the station has been complained about twice before, including by a tramper who witnessed a "staggering amount of cattle" in Lake Sumner, which had left a "disturbing amount of cow s...."

Have you seen livestock in any of the country's waterways? Email charlie.mitchell@fairfaxmedia.co.nz

That complaint, in 2012, was followed seven months later by a complaint from an angler who filmed both cattle and sheep in Lake Taylor. He bemoaned the general state of the area, saying it was "much better when [he] was a kid".

ECan staff did not visit the area after either complaint, and took no action.

There were also reports of Department of Conservation (DOC) staff having to round up stock that had roamed onto the nearby conservation island.

ECan consents and compliance manager Marty Mortiaux said cattle were not allowed to be in the lake.

"It's breaking our regional rules, there is a . . . resource consent to carry out the activity, but in this case there is no consent, so they are breaching the rules," he told RNZ.

"We have an officer that's investigating. There may well be an explanation that is satisfactory for them being in there and that will determine what sort of enforcement action we look at."

It is understood an investigator would meet face to face with the property owners on Wednesday.

Mortiaux said there were several penalties that could be imposed, including an abatement notice, an instant $750 fine and, in the worst case, prosecution.

He said in 2013 there was a complaint about stock being in the lake, although he understood it was owned by different people at the time. No penalty was imposed.

ECan's Land and Water Regional Plan allowed stock access to lakes, rivers and wetlands, but only under strict conditions. One of them was that cattle could not stand in a lake.

Green Party water spokeswoman Catherine Delahunty said it should not be up to the public to monitor cattle wading in waterways.

"In the 21st century, when we've got the level of pollution in our waterways we have now, we can't afford to have this happen."

She said some farmers were committed to fencing off stock from waterways, but others felt they could do whatever they wanted to water on their properties.

"There really needs to be some leadership. Maybe a fine of $750 is insufficient to deter people from doing this.

"We really need total exclusion [of stock from waterways] and councils need the power and the political will to enforce this properly."

Fish and Game spokesman Don Rood said the photo was "not a good look". The site was close to a DOC camping ground.

"This is in a lake that's supposed to be something the conservation estate has decided is a lovely spot and yet this is happening right next to crowded camping ground at the height of the holiday season."

Federated Farmers North Canterbury president Frank Brenmuhl said allowing the cattle access to the lake was understandable if it happened sparingly.

"If there's livestock there and they need to have water and it's the only water available at the time, I'd say put the livestock in. Nobody's going to say kill your cows because we've had dry weather," he said.

Controlling access to the lake to abide by ECan's rules would be tricky, Brenmuhl said, but he believed Lakes Station could do more.

Since Brown's photograph emerged, others had shared photos of stock in waterways, including cows seen in a river near the Matukituki Valley in Otago.

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