A dairy farm near Levin has been bought by the Government so it can be turned back into a wetland, in the hopes it will restore one of the country’s most polluted lakes.
A 140-hectare section between the polluted Lake Horowhenua and Lake Waiwiri will be turned into a nationally significant wetland as part of a $12.5 million project.
Dairy farmer Geoff Kane said every time it rained, stormwater from the town or off the market gardening went into the streams, then into the lake.
“I don't like seeing cows disappear off the countryside, either, because we need the milk too. But, the fact that it is going into a community project which will have all those benefits, I think it's for the good of it all.”
Environment Minister David Parker said the lake had a “really sad history” which saw it degrade over decades.
“We’ve done our bit here. We’re putting a lot of taxpayers’ money into purchasing a farm that can be restored into a giant wetland,” Parker said.
Now, it was up to those who used the land to play their part to improve the water’s quality, he added.
He said the wetland should stop sediment and nutrients from reaching the lake.
Funding for the project came from the Government’s Jobs for Nature programme, which contributed $11.2 million. Horizons Regional Council chipped in $1 million. About $6.7 million was spent buying the farm.
The project is expected to create the equivalent of 45 full-time jobs over four years.
Horizons Regional Council chair Rachel Keedwell said they’d bought more land than originally intended.
“[It] means there's not quite as much money for doing the wetland. So, it's probably going to be in a series of stages,” she said.
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