An embattled Southland lagoon will be the subject of an upcoming hearing to decide if periodic openings to the sea should be allowed.

Waituna Lagoon is located southeast of Invercargill next to Toetoes Bay, and forms part of an internationally significant wetland.

But the area has battled both high water levels and algae outbreaks in recent years due to nutrient build-up, with run-off from surrounding farmland proving an issue.

A previous resource consent for opening the lagoon expired in 2022 meaning two openings in 2024 were done under emergency powers.

Last July, Environment Southland received a resource consent application from itself, Te Rūnanga o Awarua and DOC to periodically open the lagoon to the sea.

The goal was to create a regime for managing the lagoon’s water levels, a report said.

A total of 51 submissions were received during a public notification period, of which 42 opposed the application and wanted to present at a hearing.

On Thursday, Environment Southland appointed three people to an independent panel to decide the application's fate — accredited hearing commissioners Mark St. Clair, Megan McKay and Dr Ian Boothroyd.

Council chair Nicol Horrell said staff had worked hard to get commissioners in place.

“I think that’ll be appreciated by some of the submitters, so well done.”

The hearing will be held at Environment Southland from 29 - 31 July, with the council saying it has already sent the dates to relevant parties.

Submitters in favour of the consent include Southland Conservation Board, Te Ao Mārama Inc and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu.

Federated Farmers opposed it based on proposed water levels for opening, while Forest & Bird were mostly supportive but also took issue with some of the proposed levels.

Waituna Lagoon is home to native birds, fish and plants.

In 1976, the area became the first in New Zealand to be recognised under the Ramsar Convention as a wetland of international significance.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air