It was the subject of a claim concerning the effluent flowing down the river from Lake Rotorua, which resulted in movement to a land treatment system.

During the 1970s Lake Rotorua was becoming eutrophic under heavy nutrient loadings, leading the Ministry of Works to propose diverting some sewage flow into the Kaituna River.

The Ministry of Works report however stated that the mauri concept was essentially religious in nature and not scientifically verifiable, while on the other hand diluting the waste would help prevent excess pollution and keep costs at a reasonable level.

The upper reaches of the Kaituna river was the site of a small power station which was in operation from 1901 to 1936, the first generating plant built by the New Zealand government.

[5] In 2008 there was a consultation regarding the installation of a new 13.5 megawatts (18,100 hp) hydro electric power dam below the river at the end of Trout Pool Road.

The entrance to the upper gorge contains a slalom course that has been used by international teams for their off-season training prior to world championships and Olympic competition.