13 July 2020
Bay of Plenty Regional Council is the consent holder of two resource consents that authorise activities associated with the operation and maintenance of the Okere Control Gates at the outlet of Lake Rotoiti.
The Regional Council is seeking variation to these resource consents. These changes fall into two groups;
• A trial for a period of three years and five months to vary the lake level management regime and also drawing the lake level down to RL278.85m for a period of one week within the trial period. This is close to the lowest level the lake has been recorded at. This trial is based on a joint proposal by the Regional Council and Ngāti Pikiao Environmental Incorporated Society, and will allow investigation of impacts on Lake Rotoiti identified in the Cultural Management Plan.
• At the same time, the Regional Council is seeking permanent changes to conditions covering four aspects of the resource consent which are either no longer required or require modification for administrative efficiency.
The Regional Council has undertaken considerable consultation on the proposal and has attempted to minimize the impact on any parties by planning the lowering only on one occasion during the 3 year period and programming it in winter so that once the low level is achieved the lake can be rapidly re-filled.
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