Farmers, sewerage schemes and clean water

[This is an extended treatment of the second of my "Top Five Issues" listed on the vote.co.nz website, I'll continue post the rest over the next week or so]  

Collectively, Central Government, Rotorua District Council, BOP Regional Council and the wider community are funding the clean up of our Te Arawa Lakes.  Measures include new lakeside sewerage schemes, alum dosing of streams, the pilot de-nitrification plant at Tikitere, floating wetlands and other ongoing trials.  While we are all doing our bit as a community, it’s important we support our rural community through this period of significant change.

Lake Rotorua's floating wetland at Sulphur Point.

Farming and lake water quality must co-exist.

We need farmers and we need clean water.  Working together is the only way to have both.  There are some major changes happening in our rural environment around Lake Rotorua.  While these may go unnoticed by many, the improvements in water quality are measurable and obvious for all to see.

Farming is vital to our region and keeping farms financially viable is of major interest to farmers and Council alike.  Farm management systems need to evolve and runoff mitigation processes need to be more widely deployed.

Farmers are being asked to farm less intensively and to make changes to how they currently use their land.  Land use change is a major economic issue for our region with significant investment opportunity for iwi.  Options include the consideration of innovative crops such as tea, hops, truffles and saffron.

I am actively involved with these discussions in my roles on the Rotorua Te Arawa Lakes Strategy Group and the Stakeholders Advisory Group.  I am looking forward to continuing in these roles and making further significant contributions in this area.

Please see the www.rotorualakes.co.nz website for detailed information on the health of our lakes and other related projects.