Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Geothermal activity erupts on Lake Rd in Rotorua

By Cira Olivier and Laura Smith
Rotorua Daily Post·
6 Jul, 2022 05:14 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Geothermal activity erupts on Lake Rd. Video / Andrew Warner, Supplied

Work may begin tomorrow to quench geothermal activity that erupted through Lake Rd this morning, spewing out mud, steam and water.

In an afternoon statement, Rotorua Lakes Council said investigations into what caused the fumarole — a steam-driven vent — to emerge would continue tomorrow.

It had not yet been linked to a geothermal bore. If the activity is not bore-related, it was likely work will start to quench and fill the fumarole tomorrow, the statement said.

Traffic management would continue. As of tonight, Lake Rd heading out of the CBD was down to one lane, and both lanes were closed in the other direction with a diversion via Tarewa Rd. Pedestrians were advised to stay away.

The activity was located in the garden in the median strip on Lake Rd near the geothermally active Kuirau Park.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Geothermal eruption on Lake Road.    07 July 2022 The Daily Post Photograph by Andrew Warner.
RGP 08Jul22 -
Geothermal eruption on Lake Road.   07 July 2022 The Daily Post Photograph by Andrew Warner.
A geothermal geyser has sprung up on the median strip of Lake Road.   06 July 2022 The Daily Post Photograph by Andrew Warner.

Image 1 of 14:

Geothermal activity has sprung up on Lake Rd in Rotorua.  Photo / Andrew Warner
Geothermal activity has sprung up on Lake Rd in Rotorua. Photo / Andrew Warner

The council earlier said the cause was likely to be linked to high groundwater levels which are weather-driven.

Its geothermal inspector, Peter Brownbridge, said the area was not a known hot spot for fumaroles and the council had not had any previous reports of hot springs there.

Traffic flows through the affected area on Lake Rd.  Photo / Andrew Warner
Traffic flows through the affected area on Lake Rd. Photo / Andrew Warner

The cause of the fumarole was unknown, he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The fumarole was not large and it popped up among plantings in the middle of a traffic island but there was a fair bit of water and mud on the road on the side going into town which had been closed off.

Brownbridge said it was unknown if a crack across both lanes on the other side of the road was related to the fumarole.

Shot of the geothermal activity taken from Pukeroa Hill.  Photo / Andrew Warner
Shot of the geothermal activity taken from Pukeroa Hill. Photo / Andrew Warner

"We're not detecting any heat or movement from the crack so that side of the road remains open for now."

Brownbridge said some geothermal bores in the area had been shut down to see if it had an impact on what was happening at the site.

"We have well drillers here now looking to quench one of the bores to see if that affects the flow of water coming out of the fumarole."

Geothermal activity has sprung up on Lake Rd in Rotorua.  Photo / Andrew Warner
Geothermal activity has sprung up on Lake Rd in Rotorua. Photo / Andrew Warner

Sucker trucks had been called in to remove the mud that is coming out of the fumarole and onto the road to prevent it from getting into the nearby stream.

A cesspit drain in the area had also been blocked off for the same reason.

A woman watching the action this morning said she arrived just as the work crews did.

"It had exploded and mud came out. It's cracked the road."

She had not seen anything like it in the area before.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Geothermal activity has sprung up on Lake Rd in Rotorua.  Photo / Andrew Warner
Geothermal activity has sprung up on Lake Rd in Rotorua. Photo / Andrew Warner

Rotorua woman Liz Coppard was driving past the area and spotted what she described as a borehole that had opened up.

She said it was about 1m tall and bubbling up from the garden in the median strip of Lake Rd.

"It's right in between two power poles so not sure if that will cause any electrical issues."

She said there were about eight Infracore workers in the area with high-visibility vests on but traffic was still flowing on Lake Rd.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Sport

'My moment': NZ-born boxer becomes first Māori to be crowned undisputed world champ

12 Jul 03:58 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Puchner makes history with silver at U23 canoe slalom world titles

12 Jul 03:37 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

One taken to Tauranga Hospital after SH29 crash

12 Jul 02:27 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

'My moment': NZ-born boxer becomes first Māori to be crowned undisputed world champ

'My moment': NZ-born boxer becomes first Māori to be crowned undisputed world champ

12 Jul 03:58 AM

In her debut at Madison Square Garden, the 30-year-old produced a 'total beatdown'.

Puchner makes history with silver at U23 canoe slalom world titles

Puchner makes history with silver at U23 canoe slalom world titles

12 Jul 03:37 AM
One taken to Tauranga Hospital after SH29 crash

One taken to Tauranga Hospital after SH29 crash

12 Jul 02:27 AM
Landslide sparks evacuations, roads closed, homes flooded after storm

Landslide sparks evacuations, roads closed, homes flooded after storm

12 Jul 12:43 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP