You’re in ME right? That’s surprising.
Farmer here can’t divert water, but allowing cattle to use for water source in the summer has always been legal.
They can’t usually use it in the winter for obvious reasons.
Even if cattle can’t access, there is still going to be runoff of pee, and poop into the water.
The reason they can’t keep human poop out of these water sources is because they made people put gray water in or buy 2nd septic system. The soap in the gray water prevents the bacteria that eats the poop.
The wife’s parents used to run their gray water to the garden. Said it helped control insects.
Before the gray water rule they say they had never heard of having a septic tank pumped.
Not surprising, leftist state with powerful EPA