Access to a walking track at an internationally recognised lagoon has been blocked due to bad weather and ongoing issues with water levels.

Located about half an hour southeast of Invercargill, the Waituna Lagoon is home to several tracks, notably the 5km Wetland Loop Track which crosses manuka wetland and bog tarns.

The Lagoon forms part of the much larger Awarua Wetland, which is deemed one of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.

But access to the tracks is frequently blocked — including at the present time — due to road closure from high lagoon levels.

Southland District Council strategic manager transport Hartley Hare said flooding has always been an issue at the site.

“It has been closed for substantial periods over recent times due to high water levels with the exception of when work was carried out to upgrade the bridge in February and March,” Hare said.

The extent and severity of flooding was dependent on a number of factors including time of year, weather events and whether the lagoon had been opened to the sea, he said.

The council had no way of knowing when the road would re-open because of those variables.

Meanwhile, the organisation has revealed how much it spent earlier this year on upgrading the road bridge leading to the tracks — $246,582.

Southland District Council cannot say how long the road will be closed due to factors outside of its control. Photo: Matthew Rosenberg/LDR

But if the work was not carried out, the only alternative was to close the bridge, Hare said.

DoC is yet to update its website notifying of the lack of access to tracks at Waituna, with the district council saying it had not been specifically notified.

Both the department and adjacent landowners were aware the road was closed from time to time, Hare said.

Earlier this year, the lagoon made headlines after a toxic algae outbreak forced an emergency opening in January.

Environment Southland strategic regulatory advisor Bruce Halligan said no significant ecological concerns had been signalled from recent monitoring results.

Lagoon levels were “relatively elevated” over the last month in the 2.3m - 2.4m range, he said.

A new consent application for emergency openings of the lagoon was lodged on July 5, with public notification likely to begin soon.

Spanning an area of 3500 hectares, the Waituna Lagoon and its immediate surrounding area forms part of the Awarua Wetland, which clocks in at 20,000 hectares.

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