skip to main content

Te Waiū o TūtiraTe Waiū o Tūtira

We are working with Maungaharuru Tangitū Trust, landowners and the local community to restore and protect the lakes.

Tūtira Lakes - a clean and healthy lake

SEE OUR STRATEGY ON A PAGE FOR TŪTIRA HERE

The Tūtira lakes are lakes Tūtira, Waikōporo, Orakai and Opouahi, about 40km north of Napier.

Tūtira and Waikōpiro lakes are officially as regionally outstanding water bodies for cultural reasons, and have long been popular for recreation and fishing.  The lakes are central to many recreational and environmental opportunities in the area. The Maungaharuru Tangitū Trust, landowners and the local community are working together to improve the health of the lakes.

What do we want to fix?

The lakes have been by affected poor water quality and algal blooms for decades - the first algal bloom was recorded in 1959, after aerial top dressing of fertiliser began in the catchment

Before this time, the land cover had undergone extreme changes. The forest ecosystem was initially replaced by bracken and shrub and is now pasture.

Algal blooms are not an overnight problem, and there’s no single cause. Rain washes soil and nutrients from fertiliser into the lake from the surrounding landscape, plus a ‘legacy load’, a build up over decades, of soil and fertiliser nutrients sits in the lake bed - both these reduce water quality and feed algal blooms. 

The invasive and noxious weed Hydrilla invaded the Lakes Tūtira, Waikōpiro, and Opouahi. A nationally led eradication programme is underway.

The diversion of Papakiri Stream/Sandy Creek to reduce nutrient inputs, and the introduction of grass carp to control Hydrilla, complicate the water quality dynamics.

Tūtira Lakes Environmental Monitoring Data

We undertake monthly monitoring of four lake sites, using a monitoring buoy in each lake.

If you are going to go fishing or swimming in the lakes, you can assess the health of the lake from the monitoring data.

Check if you're 'good to go' swimming

If you would like more information on the lake, including cyanobacteria, oxygen and trophic levels, go to our environment dashboard. 

Full environmental dashboard

 

What do we want to do?

We want to restore the lake and prevent future contamination from the wider landscape.

Over the years, there have been many actions to improve the lake such as tree planting and creating more wetland areas. The Regional Council purchased the regional park to manage it as a soil conservation area. 

The Regional Council has also carried out a lot of science investigations in recent years to record how this complex lake works and to find long term solutions.

We are working with Maungaharuru Tangitū Trust, landowners and the local community to improve the health of the lake

The aim is to reconnect Papakiri Stream’s clean low flows - while stopping the muddy storm flows, add more lake edge and wetland planting. Sensitive catchment management is being supported through farm planning advice.

Our work so far

New monitoring buoy installed - a new monitoring buoy has been installed in lake Tūtira, with the old buoy moved into Waikōpiro. This buoy provides real-time information on algal blooms and allowed us to replace the permanent advisory against swimming with a more adaptive risk management approach.

Maungaharuru - Tangitū Trust - a partnership between the Regional Council and Maungaharuru-Tangitu Trust continues as we work to restore the lakes. The Trust and hapu have planted around the lake edges.

Farm Environment Management Plans (FEMP) In collaboration with landowners, to date FEMP’s have been completed for 1934ha (68%) of the Lake Tūtira catchment. Over the past three years these plans have resulted in the fencing and retirement of 4.5km of waterways and planting of approximately 31,000 native plants and 1500 poplar poles for slope stability.

 

Loading...

Contact us

info@hbrc.govt.nz

+64 6 835 9200


159 Dalton Street. Napier 4110

Private Bag 6006, Napier 4142


Disclaimers, Copyright & Privacy


More Contact Details


New Zealand Government.

Disclaimers and Copyright
While every endeavour has been taken by the Hawke's Bay Regional Council to ensure that the information on this website is accurate and up to date, Hawke's Bay Regional Council shall not be liable for any loss suffered through the use, directly or indirectly, of information on this website. Information contained has been assembled in good faith. Some of the information available in this site is from the New Zealand Public domain and supplied by relevant government agencies. Hawke's Bay Regional Council cannot accept any liability for its accuracy or content. Portions of the information and material on this site, including data, pages, documents, online graphics and images are protected by copyright, unless specifically notified to the contrary. Externally sourced information or material is copyright to the respective provider.

© Hawke's Bay Regional Council - www.hbrc.govt.nz / +64 6 835 9200 / info@hbrc.govt.nz