Watch NZH Local Focus: Restoring Lake Horowhenua to full health

Lake Horowhenua has the seventh worst water quality out of all monitored lakes in New Zealand.

Several parties are successfully combining their efforts to improve this - but members of the Muaupoko tribe feel the story around their connection to the body of water hasn't really been told.

Muaupoko Kaumatua Marokopa Wiremu-Matakatea says: "We were the last generation to swim in the lake, all the other generations like ours, my son my grandchildren haven't swam in the lake."

Mr Matakatea yearns for the day when young people will again be able to benefit from the lake in the same way he did.

"It's sad not going through the experience I had because that's what the lake is about, each generation could have been able to grow up learnt what we learnt from our old people, carry it through but it's not happening."

For them, the lake is a tipuna, or ancestor.

Horowhenua Lake Trust Chairman, Matt Sword says many of the elders talk of the lake being the "heart" of Muaupoko, "and largely represents the health of our people so it's vitally important that we restore the lake to full health".

It was only four years ago that the need to clean up the polluted lake was addressed, with a $1.2 million cleanup project.

That's about to end, but several others are currently underway and Horowhenua Mayor Michael Feyen has a positive outlook.

Mr Feyen says it is "imminently do-able" and could have been done years ago.

Mr Sword says there has been fighting in the courts for more then 20 years, but that "never really got us anywhere".

"We needed to stop blaming and actually take action."

He says the cost to clean up the lake isn't exorbitant, but co-operation between parties, which hasn't been successful until recent years, is essential for a positive future.

The tribe is now hoping a $1.6 million application lodged with the Ministry for the Environment is approved.

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