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Rotorua lakes

Rotorua welcomes over half a million international visitors each year. Lake Rotoiti is a key tourism asset for Rotorua, but its water quality has been deteriorating over many years, and this deterioration has become significantly worse in the last few years. Excessive nutrient inputs from septic tanks, livestock and other farming practices is the main cause of the lake's degradation. As well as affecting the lake's use for tourism, the lake's algal blooms are also becoming a public health concern.

In March 2008, central government committed $72.1 million over ten years to see the Rotorua Lakes Protection and Restoration Programme implemented – this amounts to 50 per cent of the total cost.  The Rotorua Lakes Protection and Restoration Programme aims to restore four priority lakes: Rotorua, Rotoiti, Okareka, and Rotoehu. The programme includes measures to address the different sources of nutrients entering those four priority lakes. Key components include sewerage works, treatment or diversion of nutrient-rich streams, capping lake sediments to lock up nutrients, construction of wetlands, and land management changes.  The Ministry for the Environment administers central government’s role in the funding commitment.

More information on the Rotorua lakes can be found on the Environment Bay of Plenty regional council website.

Further information

  • See the fresh water page for related reports, policies, regulations, projects, partnerships, guidelines and tools about fresh water.
  • For a full list of publications relating to water refer to the water publications page.

Last updated: 20 August 2009