Rotorua: Decades-old forest wastewater method under review as panel named

Rotorua Lakes Council has confirmed the membership of a new 12-person working group tasked with solving the issue of where the district’s treated wastewater ends up.

The Recovered Water Management Solution Working Group has been established to guide a move away from the current system of irrigating treated wastewater into Whakarewarewa Forest.

Recovered water is treated wastewater from Rotorua’s wastewater treatment plant.

Since 1991, this has been irrigated on to forestry land. In 2013, the council was directed to find an alternative by 2019. After none was found, a 2020 agreement allowed temporary discharge on to a reduced 40-hectare area in the forest.

Due to environmental and cultural concerns, a new solution is required. The working group will review potential options before recommending to councillors which ones warrant further investigation.

Mayor Tania Tapsell and councillors Gregg Brown and Te Rika Temara-Benfell are the group’s council representatives.

“Together we will work to find a viable long-term solution that protects and reflects the values of our community and supports the wellbeing of Rotorua,” Tapsell said.

Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell and councillor Gregg Brown are on the Recovered Water Management Solution Working Group. Photo / Mathew Nash

Kepa Morgan will be the Te Tatau o Te Arawa representative on board, along with mana whenua nominees Kerri-Anne Hancock, Hokimate Kahukiwa, Deliah Balle and Wallace Haumaha.

Community representatives are Hana Taipata, Nona Taute and Deryck Shaw, who will also act as chair.

Council infrastructure and assets manager Stavros Michael is the project sponsor.

Mana whenua nominees were selected based on expertise and iwi support, and community members were chosen through an expressions of interest process. Te Tatau o Te Arawa appointed a representative, while council staff provide technical and administrative support.

Shaw was considering running for council this year before being appointed chair of Toi Ohomai’s new governing council.

He believed his background in governance and technical expertise would help him in the role of chair.

“I think it’s really important we understand the opportunities there for us,” Shaw said.

“I think people are really focused on good, culturally appropriate, cost-effective, environmentally sustainable solutions for the community.”

Deryck Shaw. Photo / Andrew Warner

Councillor Robert Lee has previously spoken out against the group’s formation, calling it “another secret unelected committee” during his run for mayor this year.

He also argued it was an “overly complex and complicated” solution with a simpler alternative being to send the treated wastewater into Puarenga Stream.

But Shaw stressed the group was advisory and recommendations would still require approval by the full council.

“We’re a group constituted by council,” Shaw said.

“We provide recommendations for their consideration, but the council makes the decisions and that’s really important because they’re ultimately accountable for these matters.”

Council staff will continue technical assessments, while the group focuses on weighing values, priorities and trade-offs between different options.

A major upgrade to Rotorua’s wastewater treatment plant is underway to improve treated water quality, including better nutrient removal, as well as additional filtration and ultraviolet treatment.

The recovered water project is expected to span several years, with planning and assessment continuing through 2025 and 2026, with hopes of a final decision in the final quarter of 2026.

Mathew Nash is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. He has previously written for SunLive, been a regular contributor to RNZ and was a football reporter in the UK for eight years.

- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.