MEDIA RELEASE

Have your say on the Draft Lake Rotoma Action Plan
For immediate release: 27 April 2009
You are encouraged to have their say on proposed actions to restore the water quality of Lake Rotoma.

The Rotorua Lakes Strategy Group, made up of Te Arawa Lakes Trust, Rotorua District Council and Environment Bay of Plenty, is seeking feedback on the draft Lake Rotoma Action Plan, as part of the Rotorua Lakes Protection and Restoration Action Programme.

Lake Rotoma has the best water quality of the 12 large Rotorua lakes but monitoring has shown that the lake water quality is slowly getting worse. The deterioration of water quality is from nutrients, namely nitrogen and phosphorus from septic tanks and farmland, being leached into the lake.

Environment Bay of Plenty Senior Planner Nick Zaman said Lake Rotoma water quality will continue to deteriorate for the foreseeable future unless causes are permanently addressed.

“The greatest contribution of nutrients to Lake Rotoma currently comes from the disposal of wastewater in the catchment, rural land use – in particular sheep and beef grazing – and rainfall,” he said.

Once completed the Action Plan for Lake Rotoma will guide decisions made by Environment Bay of Plenty and Rotorua District Council on what action needs to be taken over the next 20 years or so to reduce the nutrient inputs going into the lake.

To reach the desired lake water quality the amount of phosphorus being discharged into Lake Rotoma needs to be reduced by at least about 35 percent and the amount of nitrogen by at least 7 percent.

Public consultation days on the draft Lake Rotoma Action Plan will be held in Rotoma – dates to be confirmed. Feedback on the draft action plan closes on 3 July 2009 at 5pm.

The draft Lake Rotoma Action Plan and feedback forms are available on Environment Bay of Plenty’s website www.envbop.govt.nz or phone 0800 ENVBOP (368 267).

ENDS

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