Culprit found as sediment turns a Queenstown bay brown

A culprit has been found after a significant sediment discharge clouded a Queenstown Bay on Monday, turning the usually clear water brown.

Information supplied by members of the public has helped the Otago Regional Council's pollution response team identify the source of, and stop, the illegal discharge.

For now, details of the person or organisation at fault, as well as any consequence they may face for the breach, are unknown.

ORC compliance manager Tami Sargeant says an investigation is underway.

On Monday evening, the ORC posted an aerial photo of the sediment in the lake to its Facebook page, asking for help from members of the public to identify the source.

Both ORC staff and a Queenstown Lakes District Council contractor had been at the scene and unable to identify where the sediment flow had come from.

Last night, Ms Sargeant thanked members of the public who got in touch.

“ORC staff followed up on observations made by members of the public around the sedimentation, and thank people for getting in touch. The source of the sediment has been identified and stopped. An investigation into how this happened, and what actions are needed, is now underway.”