In 1969 a visiting US sanitary engineer, T. P. Moellendorf, caused controversy when he compared Lake Rotorua to an unflushed toilet. Raw sewage was being discharged into the lake, and rapidly spreading weeds made some parts unusable. Although the city of Rotorua soon began treating sewage, there is a still a problem of excess nutrients from the surrounding farmland. In 2006 the state of the lake was much worse than in 1969.
Download the article from the Rotorua Daily Post of 7 January 1969, on reactions to Mr Moellendorf’s comments (62 KB).
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Reference: Daily Post, 7 January 1969, p. 1
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