Protesters picket in bid to stop Queenstown council sewage plan

Wednesday, 26 March 2025

Protesters are calling on Queenstown's council to scrap plans to discharge treated sewage into the Shotover River.

Protesters picketed a Queenstown wastewater plant as they called on the council to scrap plans to discharge treated sewage into a local river.

Last week Queenstown Lakes District councillors were briefed behind closed doors about dumping more than 12,000 cubic metres of treated effluent per day into the Shotover River.

Councillor Niki Gladding revealed the confidential plan, accusing the council of secrecy.

The protesters lined a Queenstown highway on Wednesday morning.

The council is confident water quality won't be impacted.

The protest near the plant started hours before the council was due to go public with the plan.

Their signs included 'Toot not to Pollute' and 'Save Our Rivers', prompting a cacophony of honks from drivers.

One local resident said the council should be ashamed of lack of transparency as he only found out about the plan when the whisteblower councillor spoke out.

He said he wanted to see councillors swim in the river if they believed the dumping of effluent wouldn't impact river quality.

Queenstown Lakes District Council property and infrastructure general manager Tony Avery said the effluent would be highly treated and the council was confident water quality would not be impacted.

“We're going to meet bathing water standards beyond the mixing zone which is a pretty standard measure.

The protest moved to line the road entering the Shotover Wastewater Treatment Plant.

“We’re not talking about contaminating the water.”

The council was expected to use emergency powers under the Resource Management Act to start discharging within days.“

Avery said this would allow them to act immediately and then apply for retrospective consent.

It would translate to about 12,000m³ of treated wastewater being discharged directly into the river each day, but this would vary, he said.

Council infrastructure operations manager Simon Mason they needed to act because the disposal field used to discharge treated wastewater into the ground was already discharging into the river.

He also raised concerns that ponding water was attracting water fowl and increasing the risk of bird strike to nearby aviation.

Issues with the field used to discharge wastewater into the ground became apparent in 2021 and the council had tried to fix the problem, he said.

One resident said Queenstown Lake District councillors should swim in the river if they believe dumping effluent won't impact river quality.

But it had degraded to the extent that it was deemed not fit for purpose since about the middle of last year.

They investigated alternatives including expanding the field, bird netting and exploring ways to remediating it, but he said they concluded that the discharge option was the most appropriate strategy until they could develop a long term solution.

That solution could be five years away using money set aside in the council's long term plan.

The protesters moved to line the road entering the Shotover Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Protesters outside the plant chanted 'QLDC, we don't need your secrecy.'

A decision on the plan is expected within days.

In January, the Otago Regional Council sought an enforcement order from the Environment Court to address repeated breaches at the treatment plant.

Chief executive Richard Saunders said the council had been notified that the district council was considering using emergency works provisions.

Central Otago mayor Tamah Alley regular and transparent monitoring would help reassure people that drinking water is safe.

“This is a decision for them to make as the operators of the treatment plant,” he said.

Under the Act, the district council would need formally notify within seven days of discharging and lodge a resource consent application within 20 working days.

Saunders said the process with the Environment Court was ongoing and the regional council continued to monitor the discharge from the plant.

“Testing to date shows that discharges from the plant remain compliant with the parameters set in the resource consent.”

Central Otago sits downstream of the Shotover River.

Mayor Tamah Alley said her council wanted assurances including regular monitoring and for those results to be released to them to ensure there was no impact on the district's drinking water supplies.

“This would be critical to giving everyone comfort that the treated wastewater posed no risk,” she said.

“Our communities' expectations and aspirations for our environment are increasing.

“They want to hear directly from councils how we are meeting our obligations not just to those we serve, but those downstream from decision making.”