Fresh drinking water upgrades flow into Queenstown, Fernhill, and Sunshine Bay

Installation of a permanent UV treatment plant at the Two Mile Water intake just down from Fernhill is complete, further upgrading the drinking water supplied to Queenstown, Fernhill, and Sunshine Bay residents.

Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) General Manager Property & Infrastructure, Tony Avery said the new solution meant drinking water in the area would remain fresh, safe, and fully compliant with the latest regulatory standards.

“We’re fortunate to have high quality drinking water sources in our district but treatment is still required to ensure water supplied to homes and businesses is safe at all times,” said Mr Avery.

“Permanent treatment equipment operating at the Two Mile intake means we can continue treating this water to a high standard, and redeploy the temporary solution installed at the Fernhill reservoir in 2023 elsewhere in the district.”

While installing the new UV treatment facility down by the shores of Lake Whakatipu, crews also constructed additional building space to house future pre-UV filtration equipment, as planned for in QLDC’s Long Term Plan 2024-2034.

A date is yet to be confirmed for the pre-UV filtration, but once operating, it is expected to further improve drinking water supplies in the area by removing lake algae (Lindavia Intermedia) from the water supply while protecting the new UV treatment equipment in the process.

Mr Avery added most water sources in the district are treated through a combination of ultraviolet (UV) disinfection and chlorination, and that Council has been busy working to ensure its remaining treatment plants achieved compliance with Taumata Arowai’s standards (Drinking Water Quality Assurance Rules 2022).

“Completion of the new solution at Two Mile is just one of many projects we have been progressing to safeguard drinking water quality across the district. Upgrades were recently completed for Glenorchy and multiple Wānaka sites, and we’ll be kicking off upgrades for Luggate’s water source later this year,” said Mr Avery.

Work at the Two Mile water intake was carried out by Fulton Hogan, with assistance from Veolia and Filtec.

ENDS | KUA MUTU.

Media contact: communications@qldc.govt.nz or call 03 441 1802.

FURTHER INFORMATION | Kā pāroko tāpiri:

More information on the upgraded UV WTP: https://www.qldc.govt.nz/your-council/major-projects/water-treatment-upgrades/upgraded-two-mile-uv-treatment-plant/

About UV disinfection:

Disinfection with UV light is a simple and effective technique to kill or inactivate bacteria and/or protozoa that may be present in untreated water. Water is extracted from a source and pumped through the UV (light) reactors, each emitting high frequency UV light waves that disrupt the DNA of any organisms in the water, rendering them harmless. Treated water is then pumped to a nearby reservoir for distribution.

Image 1: Permanent UV treatment plant at Two Mile water intake.