Lakes Water Quality Symposium 2022

Lakes Water Quality Symposium 2022

ALL WELCOME

Dates: 10 - 11 November 2022


Venue: Millennium Hotel, Rotorua and Online (Hybrid Event)

In 2019, the Symposium theme was “Float Your Boat” -Certify’ where the emphasis was on a call for boat certification to ensure boats launched into the Rotorua Lakes are clean and free of pest plants and animals. The Regional Pest Management Plan was subsequently changed to reflect the community desire to have no more pests invading the Lakes.

This year – the call to action is again to the community to “Get on the Boat” and work with Lakes Water Quality Society to act for the future and drive policy and management strategies which meets community aspirations. Two major challenges exist – maintaining the gains made and managing land and water as an integrated system to make the Lakes more resilient to changes, enhance water quality, and provide resources for future generations.

Much progress has been made across Rotorua lakes and their catchments in reducing nutrient inflows, controlling algae blooms and managing lake weed infestations. But with climate change, significant land use change to production forestry, urban development pressures, and the three waters infrastructure reforms, new challenges are emerging. Many of the lakes remain at risk of further degradation. Lake Tarawera water quality remains a concern. Lake Rotoehu has not responded, as expected, to ten years of control actions. Lake Rotorua is still on “steroids” (receiving alum) to reduce phosphorus inputs and control algae blooms.