'Not in this day and age': Otago Fish & Game weigh in on QLDC Shotover sewage failures

Pressure continues to mount on Queenstown Lakes District Council's failures to end its sewage crisis, with Otago Fish & Game backing legal action announced earlier today by the Otago Regional Council.

Otago Fish & Game Council chief executive Ian Hadland commended the enforcement action being taken by the Otago Regional Council and hopes it will prompt  QLDC into faster remedial action for the ongoing consent breaches. 

“We are aware that the issues there are complex and the potential remedies costly, but you just can’t have riverside sewage dispersal fields failing to meet consent conditions and potentially risking water quality in rivers, not in this day and age.” 

Mr Hadland said the Kawarau and Shotover Rivers are protected by a Water Conservation Order put in place in 1997 to protect the catchments’ outstanding values, including water quality, fisheries and amenity values such as contact recreation. 

Otago Fish & Game was at the forefront of litigation which secured that protection for the Kawarau and its tributaries. 

“We are pleased that the Otago Regional Council has taken an enforcement order approach as this will hopefully set some time frames and reduce the risk of any delays by  QLDC,” Mr Hadland said.  

“Given the public interest in the situation, I’m confident that the QLDC will quickly come to a solution and ensure the provisions of the Water Conservation Order are upheld."

The Otago Regional Council has lodged an application with the Environment Court seeking an Enforcement Order against the Queenstown Lakes District Council around aspects of its operation of the Shotover Wastewater Treatment Plant, near Queenstown, which QLDC owns and operates.

Main image (File photo): The Shotover waste water plant.