Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

$11.5m for clean-up of badly polluted lake

Updated at 5:39 am on 26 August 2011

An $11.5 million project has been launched to clean up one of New Zealand's most polluted lakes.

The Government, Maori tribe Ngai Tahu, the Canterbury regional council and dairy cooperative Fonterra have contributed funds to the clean-up of Lake Ellesmere, or Te Waihora.

Run-off from surrounding dairy farms and clearance of wetlands has left Lake Ellesmere in Canterbury with the worst water quality of any New Zealand lake.

The Government has contributed $6 million towards the project, while Canterbury Regional Council has put in $3.5 million and Fonterra $1.3 million.

Some of the funds will be put towards compensating farmers for land around the lake that will be converted into wetlands. There will also be changes to farming practices.

It is the biggest freshwater environmental clean-up project the country has undertaken to date and is expected to take as much as 20 years for Lake Ellesmere to be clean again.

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