Lake used as car wash to be protected
Local iwi and the Northland Regional Council are working together to protect one of Northland’s most precious lakes.
Lake Waiporohita, off Inland Rd on the Karikari Peninsula, is one of 12 lakes in Northland classed as being in an ‘outstanding ecological state’.
Outstanding freshwater bodies are identified by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) looking at criteria such as habitat size, water quality, and presence of key species.
The dune lake is coming under increasing pressure due to people using it as an unofficial car wash and the threat of introducing pests to the lake.
Te Runanga-a-Iwi o Ngati Kahu chief executive Anahera Herbert-Graves says dune lakes are already under stress from nutrient runoff, pest fish and water weeds and the effects of use from the wider public.
She says that Lake Waiporohita has the added threat of being one of only several dunes in Northland that are easily accessible to the public.
‘‘Unfortunately, this means that the lake is all too often used as an unofficial car wash by passing 4WD vehicles that have used nearby beaches or boat ramps.’’
Ngati Kahu and NRC are two of the agencies working together to protect the lake.
In September 2016 the council approved a $52,850 project via its Environment Fund to protect water quality and ecology there as well as Lakes Rotokawau East and West on the Karikari Peninsula.
NRC’s Kaitaia area manager Peter Wiessing says vehicles driving in the lake increased the risk of transferring water weeds and pest fish as well as exposing it to oil and other lubricants.
He says while emergency vehicle and other services access will remain, it is the unrestricted access they are looking to address.
Around 1 km of fencing has been done to prevent stock from grazing near the lake as well as exotic tree removal.
Herbert-Graves says the next phase of the improvement project will see the landscaping of the riparian strip in the open area along Inland Rd where fourwheel-drives tend to access the lake. The area will be landscaped shortly using locally sourced materials, native plantings and signage.