Lake Horowhenua resource consent appealed to Environment Court
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Toxic algae on Lake Horowhenua will be sticking around while resource consents to clean the waterway go before the Environment Court.
The Lake Horowhenua resource consent application went to a hearing in late October and was granted on 9 December. Horizons Regional Council received a notice of appeal last week.
Horizons had applied for three consents to address the health of the lake - which has previously been ranked in the country's 10 most polluted - using a sediment trap, fish pass and weed harvester.
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Lake Horowhenua with cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, on it. Cyanobacteria is naturally occurring in fresh water and seen in several lakes in the region during warm periods.
The council had set aside a budget of $180,000 for processing of the consent.
Freshwater and science manager Dr Jon Roygard said the process would now involve working with the Environment Court and other parties involved.
"The appeal process does introduce further costs. It's difficult to estimate how much this will be and we will discuss it with council as further details become available."
Work involving construction of a fish pass, installation of a sediment trap and lake weed harvesting had been planned to get underway in the next few months to directly address lake health issues such as the blue-green algae present in the lake.
"However, due to the appeal process this would now be delayed.
"We will endeavour to undertake these works prior to the next summer season to avoid blue-green algae growth and its associated unpleasant smells that the Levin community is experiencing at the moment. However, we won't know when this work can begin until the appeal is resolved," Roygard said.
A date for the hearing is yet to be set.
Toxic algae
The lake is covered in blue-green algae, known as cyanobacteria. This occurs over the summer months as a result of warmer and calmer conditions.
A report done by Horizons and Niwa in 2012 said cyanobacteria blooms released toxins which cause skin irritation and other health issues. They could be lethal to dogs and in extreme conditions to small children.
There have been no reported cases of human deaths from cyanotoxins.
Roygard said there was always a risk of toxicity when the algae was present.
The lake is at an 'amber' status due to the density of algae. In the three colour scale, amber means people and animals are recommended not to swim in the lake but boating is still possible.
At red the lake is closed, while at green swimming is OK but drinkability relies on a number of other standards as well.
Lake Horowhenua was last green in November.
Appeal lodged
The consent has been appealed by Phil Taueki on the grounds that the consent commission failed to provide relationship for Maori with their ancestral lands and water.
He claimed Horizons had been selective with who it consulted and "therefore had obtained a distorted impression of the level of support from tangata whenua".
Consultation was with Muaupoko Tribal Authority which represented six of the seven hapu but not the hapu with stature as tangata whenua.
The consent decision said it was not their role to adjudicate between contested whakapapa and ownership of the lake.
Taueki's appeal described this as a "glib dismissal of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi", given that his ancestor was the sole signatory to the Treaty for Muaupoko.
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