Government steps in to save Lake Taupo

By JO-MARIE BROWN

The Government is stepping in to help save one of the country's most popular recreational lakes.

Excess nitrogen flowing into Lake Taupo from fertilisers, animal effluent, septic tanks and urban stormwater runoff is degrading water quality and has begun causing algal blooms.

Scientists say the lake is in no danger of immediate collapse, unlike Lake Rotoiti in Rotorua.

But they acknowledge that the sooner changes are made to halt the decline, the better.

The move will have implications for farming and land use around the lake.

Minister for the Environment Marian Hobbs yesterday announced the formation of a partnership with the Taupo District Council, Environment Waikato and Tuwharetoa to change land use in the lake's catchment area.

The aim would be to reduce the amount of nitrogen entering the lake by 20 per cent over the next 15 years.

"Lake Taupo is a treasure and we must protect it, for environmental, economic and cultural reasons," Ms Hobbs said.

"Reducing the amount of nitrogen entering the lake can only be achieved by people changing what they do on their land."

Options up for discussion include:

* Converting pastoral land to forests or native bush.

* Growing silage instead of farming animals.

* Altering the stock mix to favour sheep and deer rather than cows.

* Shifting stock away from Lake Taupo during winter, when rainfall flushes more nitrogen through the soil.

Taupo Mayor Clayton Stent said efforts to reduce nitrogen could also affect decisions on whether land could be converted to new farms.

"Not for a minute do I think there's a suggestion that we're going to outlaw farming within the district," he said. "But we are going to have to arrive at some management standards."

Mr Stent said agriculture was an important part of Taupo's economy, but a long-term view was needed.

"If we don't preserve the lake then really the district is under threat economically. It's the biggest drawcard that we have and I think the Government is acknowledging that by involving themselves."

Lake Taupo attracts 730,000 overnight visitors each year, many of whom enjoy boating, fishing or other tourist activities centred on the lake.

An estimated one in three jobs in Taupo relies on visitor spending, and the lake's picture-perfect image is used to market the region overseas.

Farmers are likely to receive compensation or financial help to implement the changes and they yesterday welcomed the Government's intervention as a pragmatic step.

Sue Yerex, secretary of Taupo Lake Care, which represents landowners, said extensive consultation had taken place with Environment Waikato over the past 2 1/2 years.

"Farmers want to do their level best to protect the lake but we need assistance, we need time, education, research and development to do that."

Ms Yerex said 53,500ha of pastoral land surrounded Lake Taupo and a partnership was the best way of ensuring that farmers did not have to pay for the changes by themselves.

"There's a lot of research that needs to be done looking at ways that farming systems can be altered that won't affect viability but that will assist the nitrogen leaching situation," she said.

The Government and its partners would also discuss how to reduce nitrogen in-flows from urban areas.

Taupo's stormwater system could be upgraded and reticulated sewerage schemes could be established in settlements.

Scientists had discovered that some of the stream water entering Lake Taupo was more than 80 years old.

Any benefits from land use changes were therefore expected to take a long time to be seen.

Simon Park, a senior adviser for the Environment Ministry, confirmed that Lake Taupo was going to get worse before it got better.

Even if a 20 per cent nitrogen reduction was achieved, the lake's water quality would deteriorate before slowly recovering to its current state, he said.

It was unlikely ever to improve beyond that while people continued to live around the lake's edge.