12/08/2026
On Tuesday at Maramarua Rugby Club, an overview of the Waikato Regional Council Lake Waikare/Whangamarino Action Plan was presented by council followed by a Q&A. It was the first of 3 such meetings.
Chair of the Mangatangi Maramarua Catchment committee, Will Murphy responded, outlining a fundamental flaw in the presented plan. He highlighted that the modifications made to Lake Waikare and the weir installed at Whangamarino wetland are major contributing factors in the pollution of the lake and wetland as they prevent the natural flow and movement of water towards the Waikato River.
Whilst the installation of these modifications at the lake and wetlands have provided important flood protection infrastructure from Ohinewai to Port Waikato the resulting environmental degradation has been the âtrade off." Will acknowledged multiple factors including, land use, landscape and Koi contribute to the issues but until there is a change in the hydrological infrastructure, community actions will not be enough to improve the stated outcomes of the Action Plan.
Disappointingly the Waikato Regional Council did not present any data modelling or costings to support their recommendations.
Will called for the Waikato Regional Council to defer the Action Plan until fundamental assessments have been made.
The following resolution was presented to Waikato Regional Council -
All Resolutions to WRC by active Landowners in the Catchment
Landowners in the Whangamarino / Lake Waikare catchment support work to achieve better environmental outcomes. But we also seek cost effective solutions that will achieve positive identifiable outcomes within a realistic timeframe.
Council is asked to clearly acknowledge in all its thinking and actions the trade-off at play:
Lake Waikare and the Whangamarino Wetland were deliberately engineered as flood-storage assets within the Lower WaikatoâWaipÄ Flood Control Scheme. These assets deliver major regional flood-protection benefits. The same engineering imposes significant ongoing environmental costs on the local lake and wetland.
These benefits and costs are inseparable. Any credible process must openly acknowledge, quantify and weigh both sides before decisions are made.
OUR REQUEST
âWe, as landowning ratepayers in the Lake Waikare/Whangamarino catchment REQUEST Waikato Regional Council DEFER consideration, adoption or implementation of the Whangamarino Action Plan until the priority investigations/assessments below have been completed and reported back to Council.
This is not a request to stop environmental action. It is a request to undertake the right investigations first.
We believe the focus should be on the following priority actions;
PRIORITY ACTIONS
Obtain independent engineering advice on the potential of introducing fresh river water into the southwestern end of Lake Waikare to assist in flushing the lake, without which it will remain as a stagnant water body.
Obtain independent engineering advice to address the hydraulic performance of the Weir within the Whangamarino River.
Establish who benefits and who should pay by undertaking a beneficiary and counterfactual assessment of the WaikareâWhangamarino flood-storage system and develop a case for appropriate central-government participation and funding of the above investigations and assessments. The aim is to aid decision-making in mitigating long-term environmental effects.
Continue to actively seek resolutions to manage Koi Carp, including elevating it to a pest of National Significance requiring biosecurity input and funding rather than simply classifying it as an unwanted organism and noxious fish.
Recognise the environmental work landowners in this catchment have already undertaken at their own initiative and expense, and support further action by providing the latest science that enables decisions balancing economic cost and environmental benefit.
Waikato Regional Council are hosting the same Lake Waikare/Whangamarino Action Plan meeting in the next few days on
Thursday 13 August 7pm Waiterimu Golf Club and
Monday 31 August 7pm Te Kauwhata Rugby Club.
Come along, find out more and make your voice heard.
[pic Will Murphy]
