QLDC has polluted rivers with sewage - for years

In a remarkable statement yesterday the QLDC has claimed that no contamination from the Shotover waste treatment plant has entered the Kawarau River or Shotover River. This claim is contradicted by Otago Regional Council investigators who in three abatement notices since 2021 have documented evidence not just of the frequency with which effluent flows into both rivers but the "extremely high levels" of E Coli and what are referred to as total suspended solids (TSS). This investigation by Crux was published yesterday for paid readers and is now published for free access due to the public importance of the issue. Both ORC and QLDC have been approached for further comment today - Wednesday October 20.

Crux has discovered that the Queenstown Lakes District Council is channeling millions of litres of partially treated sewage into the Shotover and Kawarau rivers since 2021, in spite of three seperate abatement notices from the Otago Regional Council. The maximum penalty linked to each abatement notice is $600,000 - with legal costs on top.

One local resident told Crux today it was an “environmental emergency.”

The substantial discharges appear to have been going on for years but Crux first reported on the situation in January 2024.

Since then the problem has got worse with partially treated “grey” water entering the Kawarau River and a recent man made channel that discharges the sewage into the Shotover River delta.

Video shot yesterday - November 19 - by Crux (copyright). Effluent overflowing towards Kawarau River from the lower disposal field.

Experts spoken to today by Crux say the problem lies with the non-porous silt that the wastewater facility is built on. Porous ground is needed so that partially filtered effluent can drain into the gravel disposal field bed. Non-porous ground (compacted silt) means the effluent does not get filtered and water just ponds, rises and then overflows.

Crux understands the problem should have been highlighted during pre-construction geotech surveys and would have been visible within 10 days of the plant becoming operational.

An alternate construction site on the other side of the Kawarau River became unavailable due to landowner objections and the current site is likely to have had known problems.

The dispersal field is surrounded by warning signs that look like they’ve been there for months, or years. 

These recently constructed raised banks are not consented and criticised in the ORC legal documents. The dispersal field in the background should be gravel - not underwater. The new banks appear to be a failed attempt at a temporary fix by QLDC.

ORC councillor Alexa Forbes says that she’s alarmed by the lack of action.

“I am very concerned that partially treated sewage is being drained into those rivers. I'm also acutely aware that the Kawarau River has a conservation order over it. So certainly if it is partially treated sewage going into the waters, that should not be the case. It should be fully treated.”

Councillor Forbes supplied Crux with documents that show the ORC has issued no less than three abatement notices to the QLDC re the Shotover plant discharges dating back to May 27, 2021. The ORC issued a warrant on November 3, 2022.

ORC councillor Alexa Forbes. “I'm acutely aware that the Kawarau River has a conservation order over it.”

The ORC documents show dangerous levels of organisms such as E Coli and continuing discharges into the Shotover and Kawarau Rivers as well as the water table.

You can read the full ORC investigation and abatement documents here.

ORC legal abatement documents show evidence of serious external contamination and state: “The wastewater flowed like a small river away from the Disposal Field.”

One of the abatement notices contains this account of an on site investigation by ORC officers on December 28, 2023.

“The ORC Enforcement Officers took more samples of the large area of ponded wastewater outside the disposal field, (detailed in paragraph 15a), samples from the new large ponded area (detailed in paragraph 15b) and samples from the Kawarau River upstream and downstream from the point the new ponded effluent was discharging into the Kawarau River (refer Table 2 below and refer to sample locations map and photographs taken attached as Appendix “E”).

“The sample results of the ponded wastewater outside the disposal field showed extremely high levels of Escherichia coli (E Coli) and Total Suspended Solids (TSS). Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) was also higher than the 95 th percentile and Annual mean limits of the resource consent. The sample results of the new ponded area adjacent to the Kawarau River showed levels of E Coli higher than the resource consent 90th percentile and Annual Mean limits. The downstream samples taken from the Kawarau River were higher in E. Coli, Total Nitrogen (TN) and TSS than the Upstream samples. Table 1 below records the sample results:

Council tells Crux effluent “not reaching the rivers.”

Previously the QLDC has told Crux that any overflows were not reaching the rivers. This is in spite of clearly documented instances by the ORC of sewage discharge into both the Kawarau and Shotover Rivers. The latest abatement notice gave the QLDC until March 29, 2024 to fix the problem. That has not happened. Our video footage shot yesterday clearly shows very large amounts of effluent flowing into both the Kawarau and Shotover Rivers.

Video shot yesterday - November 19 - by Crux (copyright). Effluent overflowing into the Shotover River from lower disposal field via a man made channel.

Today we saw council installed CCTV camera that were monitoring the overflows plus massive earthworks that had raised the bank of the drainage ponds by over 2 metres. But still the water is overflowing - and these ponds are supposed to be exposed gravel …. not underwater.

A QLDC workshop in July this year referred to the new pond banks being built but raised doubts that a solution had been found. Up to $77.5 million is in the long term plan for “Shotover Disposal Field” but that money is not due to be spent for at least three years.

The Otago Regional Council released this statement to Crux this afternoon from their compliance manager Carlo Bell.

“ORC was notified by QLDC of an issue at the site relating to their discharge.  

“Staff have been kept up to date by QLDC on steps that they are taking in response to this.  

“A staff member is attending the site this afternoon to check compliance. 

“ORC are continuing to investigate issues on site and as these are active investigations no further  comment can be provided at this time. Any compliance action, if needed will be taken in line with Councils Compliance and Enforcement Policy.  

“Please refer questions on day to day operation of the plant to QLDC.”

Video shot today - November 19 - by Crux (copyright). Effluent overflowing towards Kawarau River from lower disposal field through Reserve Land.

Crux has approached the QLDC with questions and a request for comment. This is the only response received so far and it denies that effluent is being being released - in spite of the ORC evidence and our video footage from today.

A QLDC CCTV camera at the Shotover dispersal field yesterday - however QLDC says “No effluent has been or is being released during this time.”

“Council has been in regular contact with ORC about some ongoing challenges at Shotover Waste Water Treatment Plan (WWTP). These are exacerbated during and after periods of heavy rainfall like we have seen in recent months.

“No untreated or partially treated effluent has been or is being released from the WWTP during this time.

“ORC is currently investigating on-site and hence it isn’t appropriate to provide further comment until that investigation is complete, other than to confirm that QLDC has allocated substantial investment in the early part of its current Long Term Plan to develop and implement a new effluent disposal strategy.

“We will respond to your other queries in due course.”

For the record this is the full background and list of questions sent to QLDC by Crux earlier today seeking interim comment.

• We understand that the Shotover Wastewater Treatment plant was built at its current location as a second choice after a preferred location on the other side of the Kawarau River was declined by the land owner.

• The current location is predominantly silt - which is generally not porous.

• The processes used depends on filtered wastewater soaking into the ground at the bottom of final stage gravel ponds - but this ground is not porous enough for the process to work. The ponds are now 100% under water and overflowing. This problem should have been evident from pre-construction geotechnical surveys and certainly within 10 days of initial operations.

• Water (grey partially treated water) is now overflowing into the Shotover River and Kawarau Rivers via at least one man made channel - recently constructed. 

• A large - recently extended and raised - drainage area, intended to be exposed gravel - is now underwater due to the filtration system not working.

• Water from this pond is now draining into areas that are public reserve and parks at the bottom of the Shotover delta - and then into the Kawarau River. 

• Witnesses have seen dogs, adults and children playing and splashing in this water.

• The area is covered in temporary fencing and QLDC water pollution signs … some of which have fallen over.

• There is at least one CCTV camera covering the “drowned gravel pond" and fences were recently removed to allow the pond banks to be raised by 2 metres or more.

• It appears as though council contracted engineers are trying to contain the problem by increasing the capacity of the ponds - without success. 

• Photos attached … we have video from today as well.

Questions:

• Why has the council not acted to fix this problem when it first became evident on completion of the facility?

• Who did the geo tech report and did the results highlight non-porous silt as a major problem?

• Our information is that this problem cant be solved as you can't make non-porous ground porous. 

• What is the status of $70 million dispersal field upgrade referred to in the Long Term Plan - is it still three years away from being allocated?

• What are the large black membrane storage bags at the site?

• Why has the community not been informed - especially when Crux recently covered a substantial overflow in January this year. - and the ORC told QLDC to stop the flow.

• Quote from Simon Mason on January 16, 2024 -   "However, acting QLDC infrastructure boss Simon Mason says "the weekend's heavy rain and a control system issue are likely to be the key issues".

  "He says the affected road has been "cleaned and sanitised" and he remains confident "the swamp" has "soaked up the spill", keeping the partially-treated sewage from "entering the river.”