Ōtamakaokao Kaitiaki Trust members say that with community volunteers and council backing they can return the stagnant Awatapu Lagoon into a place where people can swim and wildlife can flourish.

Trust member Quin Kingi said they wanted to pipe Whakatāne River water over the stopbank, into the southern end of the lagoon to improve water flow.

The lagoon was once a bend in the Whakatāne River (Ohinemataroa) before the river was straightened, cutting of the area known as Ōtamakaokao from the rest of Paroa.

Mr Kingi said water tests showed next to nothing could survive in the lagoon.

“The dissolved oxygen is next to nilch. Our founding vision for this place is that we want to return the mauri,” he said.

Engineer and environmentalist Angus Robson who has taken an interest in the project, said they would like to introduce a flow of 1000 litres per second into the lagoon through a combination of siphoning when the river was high and pumping when the river was low.

Mr Robson said the lagoon was built to handle huge volumes of stormwater far greater than the amount the project planned to put in, and the pump station could be easily switched off in times of flooding.

The trust has placed information boards around key locations of the lagoon over the past week, illustrating its aspirations, with the intent of gaining community support for Project Ōtamakaokao, as it is being called.

The boards feature a water park where people can swim, a freshwater beach, wetlands creating eel and whitebait sanctuaries and a return of birdlife.

As well as the lagoon project, signs also depict other aspirations identified in the Awatapu Ōtamakaokao Community Plan 2022-2032 that the council endorsed in June 2022.

The plan identifies the Ōtamakaokao Kaitiaki Trust as having overall responsibility for bringing the aspirations of this community to fruition.

Mr Robson envisions residents taking part in the building process and the council providing the materials.

A board near the Thompson Crescent playground shows barbecue tables and changing rooms near the beach and water park where manu competitions can be held.

“This is where we get community buy-in, community ownership and then community policing as well,” Mr Kingi said.

“That’s the whole point of involving the community and creating interest,” Mr Robson said. “Rather than the council building it for the community, the community needs to be involved in building it. Then they will look after it and continue growing it.”

They are hoping Whakatāne District Council, which has allocated $2.6 million in its long-term plan to Awatapu Lagoon wetland construction, will put that money into supporting their project.

Mr Kingi said he had spoken to Bay of Plenty Regional Council and funding agencies that were keen to help. However, they needed the council to agree to their model.

Open spaces manager Ian Moloney said that, as agreed in the community plan, the council had completed an assessment of options to provide flow from the Whakatāne River through Awatapu Lagoon.

“However, the installation of a water siphon system is not currently funded or planned within the existing project scope,” Mr Moloney said.

“The installation of a water siphon system to introduce water into the lagoon would require extensive capital outlay with ongoing annual management and maintenance costs. This project would also require collaboration with Bay of Plenty Regional Council. Funding would need to be sought externally by the Ōtamakaokoa Kaitiaki Trust or through the council long-term plan process.”

Mr Moloney said the council currently had a project to develop wetlands within the southern end of Awatapu to improve water quality, ecological health and biodiversity.

“Stage one includes establishing wetlands in the vicinity of the Wainui Te Whara Stream delta, where the lagoon is already shallow due to ongoing sediment deposition. Minor works are proposed to direct the flow of the Wainui Te Whara Stream through these wetlands, once established. This approach works with the existing natural water source and sediment patterns in the area. Stage two will include improvements to the Cleary Avenue end of the lagoon.”

Mr Kingi said this plan didn’t solve any of the issues the trust had with the lagoon.

“It’s a whole lot of work for almost a negative result.”

Mr Robson said the Ōtamakaokao Project would provide 50 times the summer flow of the Wainui Te Whara Stream.

“The flow out of the Wainui Te Whara in summer is only about 20 litres a second and it just can’t feed anything. It’s just going to remain stagnant.”