Lake Ōmāpere gets $3 million to tackle algal bloom

The government has announced a $3 million investment from its Regional Infrastructure Fund to restore Lake Ōmāpere, Northland's largest lake.

Regional Development Minister Shane Jones made the announcement at the lake, just north of Kaikohe. The lake covers about 1200 hectares and is little more than two metres deep.

The lake has been hit by regular algal blooms since the 1980s. RNZ reports that the blooms kill aquatic life and make the water unusable for drinking, recreation or irrigation. Water quality has declined steadily since the 1800s, when much of the land was deforested, and farming later expanded across the catchment.

The first stage of the restoration project, called He wai ora, he iwi ora, was expected to cost around $5.9 million, with funding from several partners. The project is led by Lake Ōmāpere GP Limited on behalf of the Lake Ōmāpere Trust.

Associate Minister Mark Patterson said the project supports Northland's long-term water resilience and Māori economic development.

The trust's wider vision for the lake includes sediment traps, riparian planting along the edges of waterways, and wetland restoration. It also aims to deal with decades of sediment build-up on the lake bed.