Pond pong getting up noses of Queenstown locals

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from Otago News

From reporter Chris Tobin:

A foul odour wafting in breezes around Queenstown’s Glenda Drive, Shotover Delta Rd, and as far away as the suburb of Quail Rise has been irritating residents and visitors in the area.

Ann Esteves, a fleet co-ordinator for Yesaway​ Car Rental on Glenda Drive, said: “When it rains, it smells really bad.

“It all started a few weeks ago and a lot of customers have been coming in saying, ‘What’s that smell?’”

The Queenstown Lakes District Council said in a social media post that the decommissioning of an old oxidation pond near State Highway 6, the main highway into Queenstown, as part of the $37.5 million Shotover Wastewater Plant upgrade, had set off the smell.

The plant was being transitioned from biological and aerated “poo” pond treatment to “activated” sludge treatment.

Esteves said the intensity of the smell varied and on occasion even disappeared, but it was full blast smelly on Tuesday morning.

She liked to drive with her windows down. On the roads around her workplace or near the wastewater treatment plant, the windows were kept up.

Steph Williams of Elements Skin & Body Boutique, also on Glenda Drive, said she noticed the smell last week. Spending her workdays inside meant the smell was not too big of an issue.

However, when arriving for work on Tuesday morning, she received a strong whiff.

The council public statement said crews were covering a drained area with excavated material and would continue to monitor the pond stench both on the site and at different elevations.

“If required, the use of lime and odour mitigation sprays may be used, with sprays potentially used at an elevated level too.

“The remainder of pond 1 will be taken out of service over the next three weeks, at which point the dredging of sludge will commence.”