Disposal field damage revealed: Crux tests show effluent improvement
Share
In an increasingly confused situation both the QLDC and ORC have not yet released any data around the “emergency” effluent quality being discharged into the Shotover River – apart from the disputed QLDC results from March 31st.
Both the QLDC as plant operator and the ORC as regulators had promised daily results on their respective websites – but so far those results are yet to appear.
In some good news, Crux tests of April 7th have shown a significant improvement in e coli results but with suspended solids being over the consented limit in one of three test locations.
E coli was no higher than 54 cfu’s per 100 ml but total suspended solids went as high as 67.0 mg/l against a consent limit of 30 (annual mean) and 50 (95%).
On Monday March 31st the Crux test e coli levels were as high as 570 cfu’s of e coli, with QLDC claiming the level as actually less than 10 cfu’s. The consented e coli limit is 260 cfu's.
See our full April 7 results here – and a summary of the ORC consent limits below.
QLDC has virtually shut down any replies to Crux while the ORC simply says the results have not been published as they are still “working through this process. There is no delay – it can take up to 10 days to test, process and review the results before they are made public.”
This is in spite of ORC previously stating on their website that the results would be prior to being reviewed by staff. The ORC also promised to publish data from March 2025, but that has not yet been done as at 4.00 pm on Wednesday, April 9.
In a series of images taken by the Queenstown Lakes Community Action Group the desperate state of the Shotover Disposal field has been revealed.
The images show the field has been almost totally drained with broken water cells exposed and a chaotic collection of pipes and debris.
The $700,000 illegal bund or wall around the field appears to have been either demolished or reduced in height, less than 12 months prior to being built without the consent of the ORC or the knowledge of elected councillors.
QLDC still has not been able to explain what happened to their “clean” water sample taken on March 31st during a missing 24-hour period between when it as collected and when it was delivered on April 1 to the Queenstown office of testing lab Eurofins.
E coli samples need to be tested by Eurofins in Invercargill within 24 hours of collection.
Expert sources that have been assisting Crux say that water test results need to be reported from many locations on many occasions to produce a true picture of what goes into the environment.
Crux will continue to produce our own water quality tests and publish those without delay or “reviews.” We understand many factors are at play, within the control of Veolia and QLDC, to produce “good” or bad” results at different times and dates.
We note that Veolia took water samples on Monday April 7 at the same time as Crux - 9.00 am.
Most of our results came back by mid-afternoon today on April 9th – but more advanced types of test will take a few more days.
It still looks possible that the “emergency” declaration under which QLDC has started direct discharges into the Shotover were linked to the rapidly deteriorating disposal field and collapsing illegal wall – rather than the claimed airport bird strike situation.
Crux will continue our investigations into the sequence of events that is still unfolding.
Disposal field images courtesy of the Queenstown Lakes Community Action Group.
TOP STORIES
