‘It pains my heart’ - locals react to worsening Waikato River
Monday, 9 March 2026
A survey of upper Waikato River users has found nine out of 10 respondents saying their use and enjoyment of the river has been seriously impacted by toxic algal blooms.
The survey, organised and undertaken by Taupō District councillor Hope Woodward, gathered 91 responses from community members regarding the state of the waterway.
Woodward said she had grown tired of the lack of action from organisations charged to protect and restore the river, and after asking the Waikato Regional Council to help, conducted the survey herself after being told the council did not have the funds or resources to do it until the next financial year - funding dependent.
“Using a simple online survey platform, this consultation took me 20 minutes to set up and cost me $50.
“For an issue that is clearly affecting public health, local livelihoods, tourism, property values, and community wellbeing, waiting another financial cycle is not acceptable.”
Woodward said the findings indicate strong and consistent concern about declining water quality, increasing algal blooms, and the resulting impacts on recreation, wellbeing, and local economic activity.
“A recurring theme in open-ended responses was frustration regarding a perceived lack of coordination, transparency, and accountability among responsible entities including local and regional authorities and hydro operators.”
Of those surveyed, 66% visited the river either daily or weekly with 89% saying algal blooms and poor water quality have curtailed their use of the river for recreational activities.
A whopping 97% said they felt the river was in decline, and 41% reported sickness in humans and/or pets after contact with it.
Of the 27 business owners surveyed, 63% reported reduced customers and revenue over the past year.
Comments from respondents were clear, “there seems to be nothing happening, we complained two years ago and nothing changed,” one said.
“Someone needs to take accountability and fix it,” said another.
“The lake has been off limits three years in a row, it feels like agencies don’t want to engage with the community.”
“The water is sick, and it pains my heart,” a local respondent said.
“I am disappointed by what appears to be ongoing fragmentation between responsible entities and a lack of coordinated urgency,” Woodward said.
“Our communities of Mangakino and Whakamaru are taking a serious hit.”
She said the survey makes one thing clear, “there is a serious and worsening problem, and it is affecting both wellbeing and livelihoods”.
“Our lakes are not optional amenities, they are the lifeblood of our villages, and without healthy waterways, our communities will all but cease to exist.”
Waikato Regional Council environmental science manager Dr Mike Scarsbrook said the survey confirmed messages the council had been receiving from locals over the last three summers.
“We acknowledge there are concerns over the health of the upper Waikato River, with the increased incidence of harmful algal blooms in the hydro lakes driven by favourable weather conditions, nutrient levels and water residence times.
“We share the community’s concerns.”
Scarsbrook said the river was under increasing pressure from invasive freshwater clams, recent arsenic spikes and climate change.
He said the council’s social sciences team were undertaking “a robust assessment of economic, cultural and social impacts”, and its environmental scientists were speaking with the Upper Waikato Algal Bloom group “to ensure coordination between responsible agencies and identify appropriate responses based on best available science”.
“As with most complex environmental issues, there is no easy or quick fix.
“While the weather can’t be controlled, the council does have levers to manage nutrient inputs to the Waikato and Waipā river catchments and has been seeking to do this under Plan Change 1, which remains before the Environment Court.”
Waikato River Authority co-chairperson Danny Loughlin said everyone responsible for the river’s health could be doing better.
“The buck stops with all of us.
“I know that sounds a bit trite, but for the Waikato River Authority, it’s about iwi, councils, farmers, and everybody else working together to achieve an outcome.”
He said after 10 years of legal wrangling the recently released Environment Court interim decision regarding Plan Change 1 (PC1) was a ray of hope for the river.
“The Environment Court was clear in its conclusion that the provisions of PC1 are the most appropriate way to begin achieving Te Ture Whaimana [o Te Awa o Waikato] - the vision and strategy for the Waikato River.
“The court noted that PC1 was developed through a decade of consultation, technical research, and community engagement involving iwi, farmers, industry organisations, councils, scientists and the wider community.”
He said the court found PC1 “appropriately balanced environmental outcomes with practicality” and “the plan provides a workable regulatory framework to begin reducing contaminant discharges” by up to 20% in the medium term.
“Importantly, the court recognised that delaying implementation would risk further degradation of the river system.”
He said enforcement of rules governing the river lay with the regional council.
“The irony, of course, is the current government is talking about minimising what they do.
“This plan change is the scene setter for regional council to address the issues that Hope's been investigating.
“It's important for these communities to feed information to regional council … its’ quite important for the community to engage, and hold those elected officials accountable to their legal obligations.”
Loughlin said the authority knew the river “would get a lot worse before it got better”.
“We're about improving to the river so it's swimmable and drinkable the whole length.
“So this (plan change) is just the first step, and it's taken a while to get here.”