Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage announced the funding in Wanaka today for Land Information New Zealand (Linz) which is responsible for biosecurity at lakes Wakatipu, Wanaka, Dunstan, Benmore and Aviemore in the South Island.
It also overseas several Te Arawa Rotorua lakes and Lake Karapiro in the North Island.
The funding is over four years lakes and is targeted at improving the health of lakes, rivers and lands from invasive weeds and pests.
It will double the agency's funds to $2 million annually specifically for controlling lagarosiphon, or lake weed.
The money will allow Linz, working with Boffa Miskell and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, to increase surveillance of lake weed, as well as improve the monitoring and evaluation of control activities such as hessian matting and herbicide spraying.
"Helping ensure lakes are healthy not only makes sense for biodiversity but for the economy too.
"The funding will also mean increased surveillance for Lake Wakatipu, which couldn’t come at a more critical time with lagarosiphon having been removed from this iconic waterway earlier this year."
While the Government had a "strong focus" on land pests in recent years, the threats to aquatic native species and people’s livelihoods often went unseen, she said.
"I’m pleased that this Government has been able to provide much needed funding to support Linz to make a real difference in these important water bodies.”
Ms Sage said she heard first-hand about the impact hessian matting had on weed control while visiting Lake Wanaka.
"I’m pleased that this funding will mean more hessian matting can be used for weed control in lakes and waterways around the country."
