Print view

Regional lakes

Lake Spectacle

On this page:

About Lake Spectacle

Aerial view of Lake Spectacle looking south-east

There are no obvious streams or rivers flowing into Lake Spectacle; the lake bottom is sandy and most of the water seeps into the lake from the surrounding pasture.

A small outlet at the north end of the lake drains into the tiny Lake Slipper only a few hundred metres away and a stream flows from Lake Slipper to the coast.

Most of the gently sloping land around Lake Spectacle is used for intensive agriculture, and both horticulture and dairying have occurred in the past. The land is privately owned and limited public access is provided by the land-owners. The lake is used for water skiing and coarse fishing. Waterfowl, several species of shag, bittern, and Caspian tern have been reported at the lake.

In 1988 there were no submerged aquatic plants growing in the lake but a pest plant, Reed Sweet Grass, was found growing amongst the native raupo around the shore. In 1999 alligator weed, another pest plant, was also recorded around the lake edge.

Facts

Location guide About 20 km north-east of Wellsford and close to the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. See a location map of Lake Spectacle
Surface areaAbout 50 hectares
Maximum depthAbout 7m
Catchment areaAbout 700 hectares 
Type of catchmentPasture (80%)
Exotic forest (15%)
Native forest/scrub (5%)
Urban (none)
Surface water temperature Average 18.9°C
Number of sampling sitesOne site, but water samples are collected at two different depths.

How did this lake form?

Lake Spectacle is a dune lake. It formed when sand dunes blocked the natural drainage path from the higher land to the west.

How healthy is Lake Spectacle?

Since 1998, the quality of the lake water has been monitored as part of our State of the Environment (SoE) Lake Water Quality monitoring programme.

The quality of any lake water is shown by its trophic state.

The water quality at Lake Spectacle is hypertrophic (highly fertile, supersaturated in phosphorus and nitrogen, rarely suitable for recreation and with limited habitat for desirable aquatic species).

 MicroptrophicOligotrophic  Mesotrophic Eutrophic Supertrophic Hypertrophic
2006/07     

 x

2005/06     

 x

Threats to Lake Spectacle

The most significant problems at Lake Spectacle have been, or currently are, the:

  • High level of nutrients. Lake Spectacle contains more than twice as much DRP (Dissolved Reactive Phosphorus) and a third more total nitrogen than any other lake that is monitored. This extremely high level of nutrients contributes to algal scums and blooms. A significant amount of these nutrients are thought to come from the intensive agriculture in the surrounding catchment area. The water quality is expected to continue declining unless the amount of nutrients entering the lake are substantially reduced.
  • Decline in water clarity. The water has been described as "turbid" since 1988 and the amount of suspended sediment has increased since 1993, leading to a further decline in the water clarity. This increase in suspended sediment may be a due to a combination of factors that include a lack of submerged aquatic plants, the presence of koi carp,and the sandy bottom of the lake. In addition, the shallow waters are exposed to the prevailing wind so that in windy conditions, the waters are mixed and stir up sediment on the lake bottom.

What is the ARC doing?

  • In 2006, the ARC commissioned NIWA to help develop a regional management plan for freshwater weeds and fish.
  • The water quality is sampled once every two months as part of our State of the Environment (SoE) Lake Water Quality monitoring programme. Find out more about the Lake Water Quality monitoring programme.

Technical Publications

The ARC has a number of technical publications relating to this subject. Follow this link to see the full list of ARC technical publications.

Continue to Lake Tomarata