Funding and research into Lake Taupo's problems may be at the expense of other lakes.
While the Government has targeted Lake Taupo for extensive research funding, much of that work could not be applied to most other lakes with poor water quality, Environment Bay of Plenty's lakes co-ordinator PaulDell said yesterday.
Taxpayer funding of nearly $37 million has been promised by the Government toward the $81.5 million bill cost of cleaning up Lake Taupo over the next 15 years.
Ratepayers in the Taupo district and Waikato region pay the rest of the cost of reducing nitrogen runoff into the huge lake.
While the catchment process work was relevant, any lake work research would be of little benefit outside Lake Taupo, said Mr Dell.
The lake was deep, without nutrients in its sediments.
Many other lakes, including the Rotorua lakes, were quite shallow and had large quantities of sediment nutrients, he said.
These caused problems when they released over time into the water.
Research was urgently needed for those lakes, said Mr Dell.
"At the moment there is a definite lack of knowledge. Environment Bay of Plenty is trying to fill the gap but it's not fair to expect one regional council to do it all," he said.
Environment BOP funds a chair in lake management and restoration at Waikato University and is spending several hundred thousand dollars on lake research next financial year.
Mr Dell said there was a gap in national research into blue-green algae and toxicity.
Blooms in the Rotorua lakes trigger health warnings against water contact every summer, and even as late as May.
The cost of fixing Rotorua's ailing lakes has been estimated at more than $100 million. Urgent action is needed for lakes Rotorua, Rotoiti and Okareka.
