Otago Regional Council (ORC) has created and launched a web page dedicated to updating the public on the progress and water testing results relating to the Shotover Wastewater Treatment Plant near Queenstown, which is owned and operated by Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC).
ORC Chief Executive, Richard Saunders says Council has set up a new water monitoring programme at six sites, since the commencement of emergency works. These sites are adjacent to, upstream and downstream of the treatment plant, and are being monitored weekly.
The emergency works enacted by QLDC were to bypass the problematic (soak) disposal field and to discharge treated wastewater directly into the Shotover river. QLDC have 20 working days to apply to ORC for a retrospective consent to undertake that discharge. An application has not yet been received.
“Given the public interest in the discharge from the treatment plant, we’ve created a webpage to enable people to access all the most up-to-date information on the Shotover plant in one place. This includes the results of our weekly monitoring,” said Mr Saunders.
It is expected that a treated water samples taken on any given day will take at least 10-days to be processed by the independant laboratory and returned, and then be assessed by staff, before it can be added to the website. Monitoring data will be shared at the earliest opportunity.
The website will be monitored by Council’s team and changes will be made to ensure it provides the information that is most useful to the community, Mr Saunders said.
He says some initial monitoring on the first day of the discharge showed some high levels of contaminants present, which can be expected with the flushing of the wastewater outlet channel, which bypasses the disposal field.
Preliminary monitoring results from the first week of April showed low levels of E.coli at the treatment plant outlet. Mr Saunders said the result provides confidence that the treatment processes are operating as expected.
He said alongside the regular testing, ORC staff would continue to respond to any complaints from the public when reported to ORC.
Mr Saunders highlighted the steps the Council has taken since problems arose with the plant’s operations, going back to 2021.
ORC has sought an Enforcement Order, on 23 January, from the Environment Court to address current compliance issues at the treatment plant, and that process is ongoing. That application follows the issuing to date of two abatement notices and 10 infringement notices.
Mr Saunders says the Environment Court mediation is ongoing; however he was hopeful for an outcome in the near future.
“It’s important to note that QLDC is responsible for ensuring that the discharge from the Shotover plant remains compliant with the consented limits. Where there are issues identified by QLDC staff or contractors we expect these to be reported to ORC,” he said.
The new web page be accessed here.
