Digger clearing Kawarau channel after KJet boats bottom out

A digger on a barge is being used to remove rocks from the top of the Kawarau River after reports of a local jet boat company bottoming out there.

But the Otago Regional Council has been unable to confirm what resource consent exists for the work.

Queenstown harbourmaster Ricky Campbell says he was made aware of the operation by KJet on Monday and is waiting to receive more details from the regional council on what it entails.

Jet boats tow a barge with a digger on it into place on the Kawarau River, Thursday, August 8, 2024.

It is his understanding KJet has an existing resource consent to clear rocks and sediment from the river and has "reactivated" this consent.

ORC consents manager Alexandra King was unaware of the work underway when questioned by Crux today, but says she is now searching council records for an existing resource consent that would cover it.

This morning, Crux watched KJet boats tow the barge and digger into place, downstream of the Kawarau Falls Dam at the head of the river.

A number of different digger attachments were seen.

KJet has been approached for comment.

Mr Campbell says low water levels are exposing rocks that are "quite dangerous" for boats heading under the old road bridge.

It is his understanding KJet wants to create a clear passageway for its boats.

"They're just looking at opening up the channel up and downstream, just to make it safer through that area. There's not a lot of flow going through there at the moment."

Mr Campbell says there are fewer recreational boaties on the lake and river at the moment, so the issue is mostly impacting commercial operators.

Meanwhile another long-time boatie has concerns about the potential impact clearing the river channel could have on lake water levels.

Former Million Dollar Cruise owner Wayne Perkins is worried seemingly small changes at one point on the waterway could have unintended consequences elsewhere.

He likens Lake Wakatipu to a gravy jug to describe his concerns.

"What you've got is a small stream of water coming out of the tap into the gravy jug and then pouring out of the spout."

The spout, in his analogy, is the Kawarau River. Chip away at that spout, he says, and the level of the water in the gravy jug will drop.

"What they're doing is opening up the channel, opening up the spout of the gravy boat, so that more water can flow through."

He wants reassurance hydrologists have approved the work and it is not a "knee-jerk" reaction to current conditions.

He hopes it will not "accidentally lower the level of the lake" because that would have implications for jetty and wharf heights.

Harbourmaster Mr Campbell is less concerned about the potential impact on lake water levels, because he says he has been reassured by the KJet crew they will be "removing very little - just the jagged-edged rocks and some of the debris out of the channel".

Main image: It remains unclear what resource consent KJet is operating under as it works to reportedly clear a channel at the head of the Kawarau River in Frankton, Thursday, August 8, 2024.