The discharge of treated wastewater to the Clutha River from oxidation ponds at Albert Town and Wanaka has stopped and the new plant and land disposal system is operating.
Project Pure has been the most expensive infrastructure project undertaken by the Queenstown Lakes District Council.
It was completed ahead of schedule and was expected to come in within its budget, QLDC utilities general manager Mark Kunath said.
Joint resource consent was granted by the QLDC and Otago Regional Council in October 2006.
Contracts worth a total of $15.8 million were let in 2007.
Fulton Hogan won the contracts for the land disposal field and reticulation while United Group Ltd secured the contracts to design, build and operate the treatment plant for two years.
The three-month commissioning phase would be reviewed in February, at which time United Group had to satisfy the council it was meeting energy consumption and treatment standard requirements, Mr Kunath said.
In two years, the QLDC and its contractors would take over the operation and maintenance of the treatment plant.
On October 30, the regional council held a public hearing in Dunedin to consider a resource consent to discharge treated effluent to the Clutha River in special circumstances, should there be an operating emergency or catastrophic failure through a natural event.
Mr Kunath said the decision had yet to be released but he did not expect any problems.
