Lake Tūtira

Tūtira has a maximum depth of 42 metres and an average depth of 21m, has a surface area of 174 hectares and is approximately 155 metres above sea level. Water stays in the lake for at least 3 years.

Tūtira Lake is popular for trout angling, and is regularly stocked by Hawke’s Bay Fish and Game. There are camp sites with basic amenities around the lake and in the Regional Park area, and its close proximity to Hawke’s Bay urban areas make the lakes a valued and well-used natural asset.

The lake is prone to water quality problems, particularly algal blooms during warm summer months. The highly erodible catchment was enriched with phosphorus via aerial topdressing during the late 1940s and 50s. Water quality problems became apparent in the late 50s and the lake has been affected by problematic cyanobacterial blooms for decades.  Efforts to improve water quality in the lake have included diverting the lake’s main tributary, Papakiri Stream (Sandy Creek), to prevent nutrient rich water entering the lake, as well as trialling mechanical bubblers to increase oxygen levels, which proved unsuccessful.

The Tūtira Regional Park is also a demonstration site for sustainable land management, and as well as enhanced wetlands, native bush and an arboretum, has a trial plantation of high UMF manuka; the aim is to find how well this scrub cover performs to improve water quality and provide a profitable crop on steep Hawke’s Bay hillsides.

Also at the lakes is an ongoing MPI-led project aimed at eradicating the invasive macrophyte Hydrilla verticillata from Lakes Tūtira, Waikōpiro and Opouahi using grass carp. NIWA have been leading this work programme and are reporting that there is very little Hydrilla left.  Smaller fish were restocked in 2015 to eat the last of the plants.  Native aquatic plants are now repopulating the lake bed and the freshwater mussel population appears to be in recovery.