The Karamū Tākina and Mawae puna lie at the base of Tihi-o-Tonga, part of a wider cultural landscape that has important historical, spiritual, and cultural associations for hapū Ngāti Kearoa-Ngāti Tuarā. In the 1950s the iwi owners agreed that water from Karamū Tākina spring could be taken for the Rotorua municipal water supply, but no agreement was given to part with surrounding land. The Rotorua Borough Council then acquired Karamū Tākina puna under the Public Works Act - a source of ongoing grievance to Ngāti Kearoa-Ngāti Tuara.

Redress for this long-standing koha of water to the people of Rotorua was confirmed with a signing of a Heads of Agreement (HOA) between Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Kearoa-Ngāti Tūara, Te Paiaki Lands Trust, and Rotorua Lakes Council in 2022. The HOA acknowledges the deep sense of mamae and injustice caused by the manner in which the negotiations of the past were conducted. It sets out a shared commitment to return the Karamū Tākina lands and to continue to take water from the Karamū Tākina puna for Rotorua at the same volume as the existing consent (granted in 2000 and expiring in 2025).

Karamū Tākina Trust and Rotorua Lakes Council are jointly applying for and will jointly hold the renewed consents. This new working arrangement continues the long-standing manaakitanga shown by the iwi owners, but it is now occurring within a changed and more tika, context. It acknowledges the compromised position of the iwi in terms of their kaitiakitanga obligations, as the consented water take is for the majority of the flow from the puna, depleting mauri of the wai from Karamū Tākina.