Park Street sewer leak

Repairs have now been completed (by 6pm) on a cracked sewer main which caused a sewage spill on Park Street today, Queenstown Lakes District Council acting water services manager John Porter said.

“A break in the sewer rising main on Park Street had caused a small slump in the road and a sewage leak onto the road itself,” Mr Porter said.

Discoloured water was visible on the lake edge; however it was more likely to have been attributed to stormwater, given the heavy rainfall at the time.

“It’s certainly possible that small levels of pollution have entered the lake but it quickly dissipated,’ Mr Porter said.

The failing pipe was one of several aging sections, earmarked for replacement in the next 12 months, he said.

As a precaution the water supply intake at Kelvin Heights had been temporarily shut down and the supply chlorination level slightly increased.

“We will also conduct some tests over the next couple of days just to ensure that there has been no significant contamination,” Mr Porter said.

It was difficult to quantify how much sewage had leaked but he believed the leak was not significant, with contractors working quickly to contain the spill and shut down the pump station to stop further leakage. Sucker trucks were also brought in to clear excess while repairs were carried out.

Part of Park Street was temporarily closed to vehicle access until the area had been disinfected.