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Anger over a plan to discharge treated sewage into Lake Rotorua for the next 30 years has sparked a petition calling for the lake to be given personhood rights.
As part of the upgrade of its treatment plant, Rotorua Lakes Council want to let treated wastewater seep into the lake via a land contact bed, rather than spray it in Whakarewarewa Forest.
Petition organiser Renee Kiriona says the freshwater environment needs to be kept pollution-free, and Maori are concerned the mauri of the resource will be compromised by the discharges.
The petition on the ActionStation online platform calls on Te Arawa Lakes Trust to "do everything it can" to stop the council.
Over the past week, the number of signatures has doubled to more than 4000, and Ms Kiriona says she intends to present it when it reaches 5000.
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