Queenstown’s new state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant, Project Shotover was opened today by Queenstown Lakes Mayor Jim Boult.

Two thirds of the Wakatipu Basin’s wastewater will be treated at the plant in huge concrete tanks on the Shotover Delta.

The new biological nutrient removal plant uses bacteria to transform the organic material in wastewater into simple substances that will not decompose further, resulting in a much cleaner end product.

Mayor Boult said Project Shotover had been completed $600,000 under budget. The development was evidence of the Council’s commitment to ensuring the district’s wastewater needs were catered for.

“The 30 million dollars spent on this project has been a major investment by QLDC, and is part of futureproofing our infrastructure and environmental needs both now and into the years ahead.

“In fact, the end product coming out the other end of this plant is so clean it meets current levels accepted as safe for swimming under the recreational bathing standards for E-Coli, which is a key indicator of water quality.

“The upgrade has been designed with population growth in mind and can easily be expanded when the need arises. The tank can be doubled in size when the population requires it, which will see the complete removal of the settling ponds, meaning that land can be repurposed for other uses.”

The opening of Project Shotover is one of several major infrastructure projects underway in the Wakatipu basin, including the Eastern Access Road, Airport Park and Ride, stage one of the upgrades to the BP Roundabout and the announcement last week regarding a radically improved public transport system.

ENDS

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