The Queenstown Lakes District Council and Otago Regional Council released a joint statement yesterday saying there had been some ongoing challenges at the plant.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council said in a statement the challenges were exacerbated during and after periods of heavy rainfall such as there had been in recent months.
No untreated or partially treated effluent had been or was being released from the plant.
The regional council was investigating on site and it was not appropriate to provide further comment until that investigation was complete, the QLDC said.
The statement said the QLDC had allocated substantial investment in the early part of its current long-term plan to develop and implement a new effluent disposal strategy.
Otago Regional Council compliance manager Carlo Bell said regional council staff had been kept up to date by district council staff on steps being taken in response to the issue.
A staff member attended the site yesterday afternoon to check compliance.
Investigations are continuing on site and as it is an active investigation no further comment was provided.
The plant has had a chequered history over the past few years with issues around smell.
In January this year human effluent overflowed from one of the plant’s oxidation ponds, making its way to a ‘‘small section of natural swamp’’ nearby. The partially treated wastewater did not reach the Shotover River.
The month before there was an issue at the plant with the sludge processing and dewatering system, causing a stench in the area, which includes the Shotover Country and Quail Rise residential subdivisions, Glenda Dr industrial precinct and Queenstown Airport.
Urgent repairs to fix that problem started in the first week of December — a fortnight later a secondary issue, with the facility’s aeration grids, had occurred.
A third stage of upgrades to the plant was under way to improve wastewater capacity in the district and provide for future growth through to 2048, a QLDC statement said.
Construction included a second modified Ludzack-Ettinger (MLE) reactor beside the Shotover Delta, and a range of new equipment, technology and supporting infrastructure to help keep the district’s pipes flowing. — APL
