Saving Rotorua lakes expected to cost $200m

The latest estimate of the cost of restoring the Rotorua lakes is $200 million and local authorities want the Government to pay half.

A parliamentary report released yesterday said the task of saving the dying lakes, which have been polluted by nutrients from human activity, would require a "Herculean" effort over decades, not years.

The report by Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr Morgan Williams also highlighted concerns about a lack of Government funding and resources.

Rotorua mayor Kevin Winters, who chairs the Rotorua Lakes Strategic Joint Committee, told the Herald that $200 million over 20 years was needed to restore water quality.

Mr Winters said the local and regional councils could not afford to fix the problem on their own.

"We don't mind leading the charge, but we want to have central Government there with us," he said.

The committee, which has representatives from Rotorua District Council, Environment Bay of Plenty and Te Arawa Maori Trust Board, planned to ask the Cabinet for $100 million, said Mr Winters.

It had already approached Environment Minister David Benson-Pope.

Mr Benson-Pope said last night he had met committee members in January but had no plans to approach Cabinet for more money yet.

"The cost estimates and the feasibility of the proposals at that time needed more work," he said.

Mr Benson-Pope said the Government had already committed more than $17 million to the lakes, including $10 million over 10 years for research, $4 million for construction of the planned Ohau Channel diversion, and $3.2 million for sewerage system upgrades now under way.

He rejected a claim in the report that some stakeholders felt there was a lack of Government interest.

"The authorities and groups have had several visits from ministers, including the Prime Minister, to discuss lakes issues," he said.

"As the Parliamentary Commissioner notes, these are large and complex issues and I don't expect anyone thinks there is a magic wand that can be waved overnight to fix problems that are the result of policies and actions that go back several decades."

Among other concerns highlighted was that the Ministry for the Environment was under-resourced.

Mr Winters said he did not necessarily agree that the Government was difficult to engage with, but did feel the ministry was under-resourced.

"We're not going to get $100 million from the Ministry for the Environment.

"It's got to come from Treasury."

Dr Williams also said in the report that the views of the stakeholders were not necessarily his own, but he said it was imperative that work to save the lakes be co-ordinated and involve as much of the community as possible.

Water quality in the lakes has been declining for decades from human activities such as farming and sewage.

Polluting nutrients have leached into the water, creating toxic algal blooms that are now a perennial hazard in many of the lakes.

Dr Morgan planned to consider investigations into research funding, integrated catchment management and national lake management issues.

Like him, Mr Winters said the task was mammoth, but not impossible.

"It's not all doom and gloom because we know how to fix them but it's just very expensive and it's going to take a long time."