Shotover poo pong still weeks away from being sorted

For those Frankton and surrounding residents holding their noses at the smell of the Shotover Wastewater Treatment Plant, there's still a few weeks away from a fix, as replacement equipment needed to arrive from the United States.

A spokesperson for the Queenstown Lakes District Council has told Crux today that the parts needed from the United States arrived yesterday (Thursday, January 11).

A second problem arose at the plant after the first fault that caused the smell was fixed.

The first round of repairs were made to the treatment plant's "sludge processing and dewatering system" in mid December. However this produced a second fault, and prompting the odour to continue. 

On December 22, the Queenstown Lakes District Council issued a press release to say there was also fault affecting the level of oxygen available to the wastewater treatment process, causing a further odour. 

To fix this problem, which affects the facility’s "aeration grids", the Queenstown Lakes District Council found the parts needed were not available in New Zealand, and had to be ordered from the United States.

Installation of these parts began yesterday, as well as, the installation of a "temporary aerator".

"As a result, we expect biological process to progressively and noticeably recover over the next two to four weeks, although a return to full performance could take a few weeks longer," the spokesperson says. 

There was also complaints of a poo pong in October 2023.