By Hamish Clark
It’s currently the most polluted lake in New Zealand, but Lake Ellesmere is about to get an $11 million makeover.
New Zealand’s biggest company, Fonterra, is helping to pay for the clean up – which is part of a Government project to save the lake.
Ellesmere, which is the country’s fifth largest lake, will also undergo a name change to Te Waihora Lake Ellesmere.
For decades water flowing off farmland has leached into the 20,000 hectare lake, filling it with nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus and turning it into a giant effluent pond.
Fonterra director John Monaghan says there is “room for improvement” and the company is prepared to show leadership in improving the water quality. Fonterra has contributed over $1 million to the cleanup fund.
The remainder of the project is being jointly financed by the Government and Environment Canterbury.
Conservation Minister Nick Smith says the polluted state of the lake is “a disgrace” and it won’t be fixed overnight.
“It’s a long term job – it’s taken forty years to be a mess, it is going to take a least a generation to fix it.”
The stream margins will be planted out, helping clean the water, while some of the areas surrounding the lake will be taken out of production.
3 News