National promises $44m to start cleaning up polluted waterways

More than 100 rivers and lakes have been targeted in the first round of publicly funded cleanup projects for polluted waterways.

Prime Minister Bill English announced $44 million from the Freshwater Improvement Fund would go towards various freshwater projects throughout the country. Among them are a large dam, as well as funding for new wetlands, native plantings, and fencing.

It included projects on waterways such as Canterbury’s Selwyn River, Lake Wanaka, Lake Tarawera, an urban wetland in Porirua and $2m for riparian fencing and planting to intercept nutrients from runoff from intensive farming in Taranaki.

Most of the 33 projects funded were allocated in the North Island – it received $27m of the $44m.

Eight of the projects were in the South Island. Among them was the largest total grant: $7m to the Tasman District Council for Waimea Water, a dam in the Lee Valley.

The other big winner was Lake Tarawera, near Rotorua: $6.5m would go towards a sewerage scheme to improve the the lake’s water quality, which was facing the risk of ‘‘irreversible deterioration’’, the project summary said.

English said the funding reflected the Government’s commitment to water quality.

‘‘National believes in lifting the quality of our freshwater across New Zealand,’’ he said.

‘‘We think it’s important because the quality of our freshwater is at the heart of our national brand, for tourism, and for exporting, and it’s a critical part of what New Zealanders believe is important about New Zealand.’’

Environment Minister Nick Smith said it added to the $360m already granted towards water quality measures.

‘‘It will enable about 100 rivers and lakes across New Zealand to be improved. Of that funding of $44m, we’ll actually get an investment of $142m across the country,’’ he said.

‘‘We are river by river, lake by lake, improving freshwater quality so New Zealanders can better enjoy our great outdoors.’’

Greens co-leader James Shaw said taxpayers had been left a massive bill, because industry had been allowed to keep polluting.

‘‘It’s too little, too late. What you need to do is to stop pollution going into rivers and lakes in the first place, otherwise, as seen in this announcement, you have to spend hundreds of millions to clean it up,’’ he said.

‘‘Forty-four million dollars isn’t exactly chump change, but given the scale of the effort we’re up against, it’s far better not to allow those bodies of water to become polluted in the first place.’’