Symposia

The LakesWater Quality Society has a legacy for advocating for the protection and enhancement of the Rotorua Lakes. In the early 2000’s lake water quality was in rapid decline due to high levels of nutrient inputs into the lakes. The Society along with local and regional councils advocated for substantial investment from Government to address the issues. This led to an investment of over $250 million on a range of works to divert and remove nutrients form 5 lake catchments in the Rotorua area.

An important aspect of the advocacy role of the LakesWater Quality Society has been its Symposia. Since 2001, The Society has hosted 13 symposia events where the emphasis has been on providing the scientific context for Lake restoration activities. The Society is due to host its 14 th event this year (2022). Over this 20-year period the themes of the Symposia have included the practical management for good lake water quality, identified the value of the Rotorua lakes to the community, linkage between local planning processes and enhanced lake water quality, management strategies for lakeweed and control of terrestrial pests that affect water quality and control strategies for pest fish and plants into lake environments.

The LakesWater Quality Symposia proceeding have now developed into a recognisable and valuable resource for Lake managers, scientists, policy makers and citizen science groups. The opportunity to create an enduring record of these proceeding in collaboration with the University of Waikato will make these documents more accessible to a much wider audience and ensure that the information is retained for future activities related to lake conservation and protection.