Time runs out for scenic lakes

Scenic lakes in the central North Island are dying, and the Government is under growing pressure to find a solution to the crisis.

The state of Rotorua's sick lakes has prompted a top-level report to the Government on whether a new rescue plan is needed.

Environment Minister Marian Hobbs has already stepped in to try to stop the spread of toxic blue-green algae at Lake Taupo.

This week, her ministry will tell her whether more Government action is needed to save the lakes from algal blooms, which make water uninhabitable for fish and unsafe for swimming.

Toxins in the water can cause illness in the liver and nervous system as well as skin rashes, hay fever and asthma attacks.

Scientists have been warning since the 1980s that some of New Zealand's most beautiful and popular lakes, such as Rotoiti, are threatened by human activities and byproducts such as farming and sewage.

Lake Rotoiti is now described by scientists as "a real mess".

They say it is in danger of collapse unless the amount of nitrogen and phosphorous entering the water from sources such as septic tanks, animal wastes and fertiliser is immediately reduced.

In the past few months it has also emerged that:

* Rotorua residents could face expensive bills for a new reticulated sewerage system to protect the district's lakes from further damage.

* Farmers around Lake Taupo face a possible "nitrogen cap" which could limit stock numbers, especially cattle.

* Other lakes around the country are expected to face similar problems within the next few years.

Environment Ministry chief executive Barry Carbon, who visited Rotorua last month to see the problem for himself, told the Herald time might be running out for Lake Rotoiti and immediate assistance from the Government might be needed.

But he has played down local expectations of more help for the other lakes in the area - including Rotoehu, Okareka and Rotorua - saying local councils seemed to have action plans and had not asked the Government for help.

One group wanting Government aid is the LakesWater Quality Society, chaired by former National Party MP Ian McLean.

"The real question is how many lakes have to fall over before central Government decides it should take some action?" he said.

"It's now gone beyond a local issue and in our view it's a national environmental disaster."

Mr McLean said Rotorua's lakes were the first to suffer such a major decline in water quality, but other lakes such as Taupo and Wakatipu would follow suit.

"They're just bigger and deeper but the same problems will eventually occur there too. It'll just take a while longer."

Marian Hobbs said in July that the Government would join efforts to help improve Lake Taupo's water quality.

Taupo is healthier than the Rotorua lakes but is showing similar signs of deterioration.

The Government's decision upset many Rotorua residents, who felt their lakes were being ignored.

On his visit to the city two weeks ago, Mr Carbon told the Herald that four years of planning had led to the Lake Taupo partnership.

Efforts to restore the lake water quality there were simply further advanced than they were in Rotorua.

"Taupo is also a question of trying to fix the situation before it's broken," he said. "The lakes in Rotorua are already pretty sick."

Mr Carbon has admitted that until recently, his ministry was not aware of the extent of the problem.

The National Party's spokesman on the environment, Dr Nick Smith, has described the lakes' condition as "an environmental disaster".

He told Parliament's environment committee that the Government was wasting millions of dollars on policy advice instead of getting in and fixing the pollution problems.