Shotover wastewater discharge to start tomorrow

Starting tomorrow, Queenstown’s Shotover River will see treated wastewater discharged directly into it as confirmed by the Queenstown Lakes District Council. The emergency provisions of the Resource Management Act will be invoked to release approximately 12,000cum of treated effluent into the river daily.

The discharge from the Shotover wastewater treatment plant was initially dependent on the completion of debris and vegetation removal from the channel to the river. However, the council announced today that the discharge will commence tomorrow.

This decision was prompted by issues with the plant’s disposal field, particularly the increased risk of bird strike at the nearby Queenstown Airport runway due to more waterfowl being attracted to the ponding in the disposal field.

The council’s plan was brought to public attention by Queenstown Lakes councillor Niki Gladding, leading to protests and media coverage. Property and infrastructure general manager Tony Avery explained that the plant had been breaching its resource consent due to the failing disposal field. The recent urgency arose when Queenstown Airport Corporation requested immediate action to mitigate the bird strike risk.

The council assured that the discharge would not affect downstream users and would be “undetectable” in the Kawarau River. Monitoring of the Shotover and Kawarau Rivers will be conducted to understand any environmental impacts and take necessary action if unexpected issues arise.

The council also mentioned that a retrospective resource consent for this interim disposal method will be sought from Otago Regional Council within 20 working days of formal notification of the works.

– APL