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Lake Clearwater () is a high country lake in the Ashburton District of the
South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...
of New Zealand. The lake is within the Ashburton Lakes district of rugged mountain country, tussocklands, beech forest, lakes and wetlands between the Rakaia and Rangitata Rivers. The surface area of Lake Clearwater is , and it has a surface elevation of . The lake is in the catchment of the south branch of the Ashburton River / Hakatere. It is subjected to the strong prevailing northwesterly winds. Lake Clearwater is a protected area, designated as a Government Purpose Reserve under section 22 of the Reserves Act 1977, and a wildlife refuge under section 14 of the
Wildlife Act 1953 Wildlife Act 1953 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand. Under the act, the majority of native New Zealand vertebrate species are protected by law, and may not be hunted, killed, eaten or possessed. Violations may be punished with fines of up t ...
. It is managed by the Department of Conservation. The health of the lake is monitored using two parameters, the trophic level index and the Lake Submerged Plant Indicator. The trophic level index for the lake (a measure of nutrient status) has ranged between 3.1 and 5.3 over the period 2009 to 2023, ranking as "Poor". A case study report published by the Ministry for the Environment in 2023 reported that all the Ōtūwharekai / Ashburton Lakes were nutrient-enriched, with some at risk of deteriorating further into severe eutrophic states, changing from clear water with vegetation, to turbid algae-dominated water. The study reported that pastoral farming was the source for more than 90% of nutrients. Seepage of human waste at Lake Clearwater and Lake Camp was a contributor, but represented less than 10% of the nutrient inflow. The lake has a submerged plant indicator rating of 48 (moderate). A small village of holiday homes, also called Lake Clearwater, is located between Lake Clearwater and the smaller neighbour Lake Camp. Road access to Lake Clearwater is approximately 38 km past Mount Somers and the last half is an unsealed gravel road. No dogs or motor powered craft are permitted on the lake as it is a wildlife reserve, however strong and consistent winds funnelled off the bounding mountains make it an ideal
lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
for
windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind-propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the Californian aerospace and surf culture. Windsurfing gain ...
and
kitesurfing Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, snow, sand, or other surface. It combines the aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snow ...
. The adjacent, and smaller, Lake Camp is used by motor powered water craft. The lake is a breeding site for the Great crested grebe.


References


External links


Lake Camp & Lake Clearwater Plan
at Ashburton District Council {{Ashburton River Clearwater Ashburton District