A $2.4million clean-up project of the Kopeopeo Canal in the Bay of Plenty will allow people to use the waterway for recreational use for the first time in decades.

The Government has committed an extra $880,000 to clean up the canal, additional funding on top of the $1.5million invested in 2011.

The Government has allocated $2.4million towards cleaning up the Kopeopeo Canal.

'Kopeopeo Canal is a priority site under the Government's contaminated sites programme. We are committed to cleaning-up this waterway as quickly and as safely as possible,” says Environment Minister Amy Adams.

The additional funding will be used to remove about 40,000 cubic metres of contaminated sediment from the canal.

The sediment will be stored and treated in secure containment cells.

The Kopeopeo Canal was originally built to allow drainage and floodwaters from low lying farmland into the Whakatane Estuary.

Between 1950 and 1989 the canal was contaminated by dioxins from a local sawmill.

The project is being managed by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, which has provided $2.4million towards the clean-up.

Amy says cleaning up New Zealand's contaminated sites is a priority for the Government.

Since 2008, more than $28million has been invested to clean up contaminated sites throughout New Zealand.

As well as Kopeopeo Canal, this also includes Tui Mine, the Patea Freezing Works, Minginui sawmill and dump, and the Waiwhetu Stream.

The Contaminated Sites Remediation Fund provides money for the investigation, remedial planning and remediation of sites that pose a risk to human health and the environment.

For more information about the fund go to: http://www.mfe.govt.nz/issues/hazardous/contaminated/remediation-fund.html