Council confirms plan for summer at Te Waihou Blue Spring

As part of ongoing efforts to enhance the safety and environmental protection of Putāruru’s Te Waihou Blue Spring, South Waikato District Council has confirmed a plan to manage the site during the upcoming summer period.

At an extraordinary meeting held on 10 November, Council committed up to $180,000 for temporary measures for the summer. These include traffic management (road markings, parking restrictions and enforcement, and investigating a temporary reduced speed limit for part of Leslie Road), additional toilet facilities and bins, and kaitiaki to welcome visitors, raise environmental awareness and encourage appropriate behaviour during peak times.

After assessing three options, informed by visitor data, insights from strategic consulting company Veros, and a CKL Road Safety report, Councillors opted to install the temporary measures from December 2026 until March 2027.

“This plan will allow us to keep Te Waihou open for the summer, while addressing some of the imminent concerns and issues at the site,” Mayor Gary Petley said.

“As its popularity grew over the last few years, so did safety concerns and added pressures. It's imperative we do what we can to keep visitors safe and protect our taonga for generations to come."

This is an interim solution while bigger decisions are made around a long-term solution.

Earlier this year Central Government announced $675,000 in funding through the International Visitor Levy to support the ongoing work of Council and Raukawa to establish a sustainable way forward.

Find out more about the International Visitor Levy funding in our article.