Rotorua finally shrugs off polluted air status
Photo:
RNZ/Sally Round
For the first time in twenty years, Rotorua residents can wake up and officially breath in clean air.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council councillor Lyall Thurston said it had taken a collective effort from the community, councils, government and public health officials for Rotorua to officially shed its 'polluted' air quality status.
"It's a major day for Rotorua and New Zealand, in particular in terms of public health," he said.
Rotorua has long struggled with poor winter-time air quality, due to
smoke from wood burners getting trapped
by Rotorua's unique landscape.
Smoke contains tiny particles, called particulate matter, and there is a national standard for the amount of particulate matter with a diameter of 10 micrometres or less (called PM10) which can be in the air.
For a time, Rotorua was the city with the worst winter-time air pollution in the country and in 2008 it recorded 37 days when PM10 air pollution exceeded the national standard.
To remove the polluted status, Rotorua was required to have no more than one breach of the national standard a year, for five years in a row.
In 2020 it recorded its first year with only one day exceeding the standard. The following four years it had no days exceeding the standard, meaning the 'polluted' status can finally be removed.
Thurston said there had been a massive education campaign to inform people about the need to clean up the air in Rotorua.
"The main issues have been to get people to install
compliant wood burners
because wood burners are clearly the main culprit that we have been dealing with," he said.
Thurston said the regional council had "been more than generous" in helping residents replace dirty heating for a cleaner option. This included the Rotorua Hot Swap Scheme which ran from 2010 - 2021, giving low interest loans or grants to households who replaced their non-compliant burners with cleaner, more efficient heating methods, such as ultra-low emission burners and heat pumps.
Thurston said while the milestone marked significant progress to improving the city's air quality, the journey towards cleaner air in Rotorua continued.
"I think the battle will always be there, but through compliance and rules and the goodwill of the Rotorua community, we will be breathing clean air going forward for as long as we possibly can," he said.
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