Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Health of Rotorua lakes on the up, but Lake Rotorua still ranked 'poor'

Felix Desmarais
By Felix Desmarais
Local Democracy Reporter ·Rotorua Daily Post·
3 Nov, 2020 02:46 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Lake Ōkataina. Photo / File

Lake Ōkataina. Photo / File

LDR_STRAP

New data shows a marked improvement in the water quality and health of Rotorua's lakes, but some say it's too soon to start celebrating.

The data comes from the Rotorua Te Arawa Lakes Health Summary 2019/2020, which was presented at the Bay of Plenty Regional Council Strategy and Policy Committee meeting in Tauranga on Tuesday.

A report by council officers said reporting on the Rotorua lakes' quality had changed to a dashboard format to "which provides a more complete assessment of the state of the lake".

The dashboard included a trophic level index - a grading system for the health of New Zealand lakes - as well as ecological and cultural measurements.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The index measures nitrogen, phosphorous, water clarity, and chlorophyll-a in lakes, resulting in a number grading.

The results showed seven of the 12 Rotorua lakes met index targets in 2019/20.

This was a stark improvement on the previous year, when all 12 lakes under the regional council's purview failed to meet the targets.

The report stated while the improvements were promising, "long-term trends remain the best indicator of water quality".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

In the meeting, regional councillor Lyall Thurston said the council had to "ramp up" its communication regarding the Rotorua Te Arawa Lakes Programme.

"There's huge, widespread confusion in the Rotorua community and it's not even summer yet.

"The problems with the lakes are driven by human beings. We've trumpeted the fact we've turned the lakes around and that we are on the home straight but with [the October 23] algae bloom arriving at this time of year … the writing's on the wall.

The algal bloom at Lake Rotorua on October 23. (File) Photo / Trish Bailey
The algal bloom at Lake Rotorua on October 23. (File) Photo / Trish Bailey

"It's a considerable concern to a lot of people."

Discover more

Health warning issued for Rotorua lake

17 Jun 12:21 AM

Wash your weedy waders: Reminder for duck hunters

21 May 05:22 AM

Work underway to improve wellbeing of Utuhina Stream

20 Jul 02:28 AM

Warning issued for Lake Rotorua and Ohau Channel

23 Oct 12:09 AM

Councillor Te Taru White said he supported Thurston's concerns.

On October 23 a health warning was issued for Lake Rotorua and the Ōhau Channel, with the regional council reporting a bloom of potentially toxic blue-green algae.

Today's report found swimming water quality was poor in Lake Rotorua, based on National Policy Statement Freshwater Management measurements, but lakes Rotoiti, Rotomā and Tarawera all scored highly in that area.

The composition of native and invasive plants was found to be in a moderate condition in most lakes, with the exception of Rotoiti, which scored poorly, and Rotomā and Ōkareka, which scored highly.

The dashboard also took into account native and invasive fauna, finding kōura - freshwater crayfish - abundant in Ōkataina, Rotomā and Tarawera. Kōura were absent from Ōkaro and Rotomahana.

Kākahi - freshwater mussels - were abundant in Rotoiti, Rotokakahi, Rotomā, Rotorua and Tarawera.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Catfish were abundant in Rotoiti and common in Lake Rotorua, but no evidence of the invasive species had been found in other lakes.

After the meeting, Te Arawa Lakes Trust chairman Sir Toby Curtis said the iwi was "very comfortable and very pleased with the progress" on the lakes.

"It isn't on the point of disaster or going down a disastrous path. [It's] on a pathway to improving every time we get a report.

Te Arawa Lakes Trust chairman Sir Toby Curtis. Photo / File
Te Arawa Lakes Trust chairman Sir Toby Curtis. Photo / File

"Perhaps what is even more important than the results [is] that the whole district ... are being active in participating in the care and protection of our lakes."

The Rotorua Te Arawa Lakes Programme is a joint initiative between the regional council, the district council and Te Arawa Lakes Trust, and receives funding assistance from the Ministry for the Environment.

Lakes Water Quality Society president John Gifford said the algal bloom on Lake Rotorua had highlighted the sensitivity of the Lakes environment.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We're still really on the journey of restoring the lakes back to pre-1960s levels.

"The lakes are incredibly vulnerable … we still have a lot of work ahead of us and we can't be complacent.

Lakes Water Quality Society president John Gifford at Lake Rotorua. Photo / File
Lakes Water Quality Society president John Gifford at Lake Rotorua. Photo / File

"It's easy for everyone to pat themselves on the back and think we're making good progress … but we're not there yet."

Regional council Rotorua catchments manager Helen Creagh said the results were positive but recommended the community "follow public health warnings and exercise common sense".

"We always recommend that people avoid swimming after heavy rainfall and storms as there can be an increase in E. coli in the water."

Creagh said the dashboard was presented to help the community better understand the data using measurements such as bathing quality, the "presence and abundance of taonga species" and pests, as well as the trophic level index.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We wanted to improve the data available - the new dashboard is intended to represent measures more meaningful to lake users."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

Popular Waikato walkway fully reopens after major upgrade

02 Jul 05:00 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

Wet, wet, wet: Rain warning for BoP as more tropical weather looms

01 Jul 11:38 PM
Rotorua Daily Post

Road reopens after person hit by truck

01 Jul 11:24 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Popular Waikato walkway fully reopens after major upgrade

Popular Waikato walkway fully reopens after major upgrade

02 Jul 05:00 AM

The reopening comes seven months behind the original schedule.

Wet, wet, wet: Rain warning for BoP as more tropical weather looms

Wet, wet, wet: Rain warning for BoP as more tropical weather looms

01 Jul 11:38 PM
Road reopens after person hit by truck

Road reopens after person hit by truck

01 Jul 11:24 PM
Why an outspoken leader is resigning and returning to Rotorua

Why an outspoken leader is resigning and returning to Rotorua

01 Jul 10:00 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP