By JO-MARIE BROWN
Almost 250 people worried about the deteriorating health of Rotorua's lakes will be discussing practical ways of fixing the problem today and tomorrow.
The Rotorua Lakes 2003 Symposium is being held in the city to give Rotorua residents, farmers, local authorities and scientists the opportunity to talk about
a range of options that are likely to improve the lakes' water quality.
It is one of several lakes in the region that suffer from algal blooms which make their water unfit to swim in or drink throughout the summer.
Ian McLean, chairman of the LakesWater Quality Society, which is co-hosting the conference, said it would strongly emphasise finding practical solutions to reduce the amount of nutrients going into Rotorua's lakes.
The other co-host is the Rotorua branch of the Royal Society of New Zealand.
Excess nitrogen and phosphorus from sources such as animal effluent, fertilisers, septic tanks and stormwater runoff are blamed for fuelling algal growth over the past few decades.
"This symposium is built around how to fix the lakes - what actually must be done - not on plans or theory," he said.
"It's bringing together experience from around the world and New Zealand."
Two scientists from the United States would deliver keynote speeches on global trends and how similar problems were being tackled in lakes overseas, he said.
Other presentations would explore how farmers could reduce the amount of nutrients leaching from their land, the effectiveness of constructing wetlands and fencing lake margins, and the pros and cons of diverting the Ohau Channel to stop excess nutrients entering Lake Rotoiti.
Topics such as controlling urban and agricultural development around lakes and ways of stripping nutrients from sewerage wastewater sites were among many others that would be discussed.
Mr McLean said about 240 people had registered for the conference following months of publicity about algal blooms and scientific warnings that Rotorua's lakes were in a perilous state.
"The quality of the papers for this symposium is absolutely superb and we've got an attendance much greater that we ever expected."
Herald Feature: Conservation and Environment
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