No easy solutions to fix toxic Canterbury lake - developer

Resolving toxic algae issues in a Canterbury town's lake will take time, says the developer.

Local residents are demanding answers on how to rectify the ongoing problems with Pegasus Town's artificial lake.

A Templeton Pegasus Ltd spokesperson said the company is working with its consultant WSP to find a solution to the ongoing risk of algae bloom, but it is taking longer than expected.

Environment Canterbury (ECan) issued an abatement notice last month about the state of the lake.

It followed the latest public health warning for toxic algae, which was issued in December.

Residents’ group chairperson Matt James recently told Local Democracy frustration is growing among residents.

‘‘For a manufactured lake it is very deep and the water is very stale.

‘‘It is like a garden pond. It is fed by aquifers, but the flows aren’t fast enough to flush it out, which causes the lake to layer.’’

Templeton Pegasus, a subsidiary of Templeton Group, presented residents with a plan last year, but the residents’ group has not seen any progress since.

The water quality issues at Pegasus Lake are the result of the nutrients in the groundwater that flows into the lake from the wider Waimakariri area, the Templeton Pegasus spokesperson said.

‘‘Templeton Pegasus is not responsible for and cannot control those.

‘‘Nevertheless, Templeton Pegasus continues to explore options that may be available to address water quality issues in the Lake.

‘‘Unfortunately, this process is not straight forward and has taken longer than Templeton Pegasus had hoped.’’

The spokesperson said the developer’s consultant is looking at a number of proposed solutions.

‘‘Once those proposals have been evaluated, we will be in a position to determine a preferred approach and engage further with stakeholders including the Pegasus community.’’

The artificial lake was constructed by the original developer, Infinity Group, between 2008 and 2010, with Todd Property Group taking over the development in late 2012 and Templeton Pegasus eight years later.

An ECan spokesperson said Templeton Pegasus holds four resource consents with the regional council and is in breach of conditions in two of those consents.

‘‘The lake is prone to blooms of potentially toxic algae (‘blue-green algae') over the summer period.’’

By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter

■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.