Lake Ōmāpere `a foetid mess'
Whilst water storage is rightly topical, the sad and disgraceful state of Lake Ōmāpere is ignored. The largest body of water in the North is dead, an environmental disaster. What was once a food basket for manawhenua cannot even provide water that can readily be
made potable in droughts.
Dynamiting the outlet to lower the level for farmland has had the most egregious effect on this taonga. Surrounding land that was 'drained' is flooded whenever we have decent rainfall, and is marginal at best. The water lacks oxygen and heats up because it's too shallow, creating perfect conditions for algal bloom.
Introduced swans and ducks appear to be the only beneficiaries, having multiplied to plague proportions. Native plants have had to be relocated from the lake in a bid to save them from extinction.
It's such a sorry, foetid mess, worst of all being the complete loss of amenity and kai for people. What should be a jewel containing a huge volume of healthy water, aiding realisation of the surrounding area's potential, is instead a pig's ear.
