Cambridge News | July 28, 2022

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CAMBRIDGE NEWS | 1

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Our D-graded lake

Waikato Regional Council environmental scientists Briar Mills, left, and Nicole Squires take water samples at Lake Te Koo Utu’s deepest point. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.

By Mary Anne Gill

Lake Te Koo Utu is in such a bad state it will take decades to recover despite the recent installation of 12 rain gardens around the lake. The forecast comes from Waikato Regional Council lakes’ scientist Mat Allan, who also rejects a plan which advocates draining and replacing water in the lake, which

he says could make the quality even worse. Purging the lake of ducks, removing deciduous trees and installing more rain gardens are all better options, he says. While the lake does not yet have a national ecological grade, as required by the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management, Allan says he is

“moderately confident” it is a D. “That’s the worst grade we can apply,” said Allan. Allan described the rain gardens – made up of native shrubs perennials and flowers which hold and soak in water runoff from the roads around the lake - as a great idea because of their filtration qualities. Waipā District Council’s

statutory role is to control the effects of land use on lakes and rivers, hence its role in establishing the rain gardens and installing more in future years. The regional council’s job is to monitor water quality and work closely with the district council to find solutions. It has monitored the lake regularly since 2019 and two

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environmental scientists - Nicole Squires and Briar Mills, both Waikato University graduates were out early on Thursday last week to take the latest tests at the lake’s deepest point. Allan said the results from those tests showed no improvement in the latest data. Continued on page 2


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