River wastewater: 'I would happily let my children swim there'

A senior Queenstown council manager says he would happily let his children swim in a river where treated sewage will be discharged within days.

Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) announced at a press conference this morning it will use "emergency powers" to allow 12,000 cubic metres of treated wastewater to be discharged directly into the Shotover River each day.

The treated wastewater discharged into the river daily would amount to 2% of the flow of the Shotover River at low flow, and 0.02% of the Kawarau River at low flow,

Asked if he would swim in the Kawarau River once the direct discharge of treated wastewater started, council infrastructure operations manager Simon Mason said he was a resident and had a "passion for these rivers" .

"I would happily let my children swim there."

Property and infrastructure general manager Tony Avery said the discharge would have no impact on downstream users and would be "undetectable" in the Kawarau River.

Mr Mason and Mr Avery gave an update on the situation this morning amid protests after a secret workshop was held with councillors last week.

The exact timing of when the wastewater would be discharged would be announced in the coming days, but the move would happen within days and not weeks.

They said about 12,000 cubic metres of wastewater would be discharged per day, but this could vary and on some days could be double that.

They said the council had been forced to use emergency powers under the Resource Management Act because the disposal field at the Shotover Wastewater Plant had failed.

The council first discovered issues at the field - where wastewater was meant to disperse into the ground - in 2021 and it became apparent around August last year it was not fit for purpose.

The council planned on continuing to discharge waste water into the river for five years until a replacement facility was built, potentially in Frankton.

Under the Act the council could use the emergency powers  straight away and then apply for a retrospective consent.

Plan protested

About 50 people have joined a protest in Queenstown this morning about the council's plan to discharge treated sewage into the Shotover River daily.

The protest, which began about 8am, was organised by a new group called Queenstown Community Action.

The protesters held up signs to passing motorists on State Highway 6, across the road from the plant, with messages such as ‘‘QLDC stop lying to us", "no more development", "fishes not faeces" and "no shit in the Shotty".

They are calling for more transparency from the council about its management of the wastewater system, and the risk of environmental damage from its proposal to discharge treated wastewater directly into the Shotover River.