Trees have been felled and a portion of another residential road has been temporarily closed to through traffic as the council tackles further major three waters infrastructure upgrades around Wānaka.

While the West Wānaka water supply pipeline project disrupts traffic on Ballantyne Road and MacPherson Street, the first stage of the North Wānaka water and wastewater project proceeds at pace.

A section of Aubrey Road, between Beacon Point Road and Bay View Drive, was reduced to one lane last week (June 9) as a new, larger wastewater pipe is laid to replace the existing antiquated pipes and lateral connections to residential properties along Aubrey Road.

The upgrade and replacement of existing wastewater pipes will affect Aubrey Road from Rata Street to Lakeside Road and traffic diversions will remain in place for everyone except residents, rubbish collection and emergency vehicles, the council said. 

Contractor Downers has had to fell trees to make way for new water and wastewater pipes running alongside Mt Iron. PHOTO: Wānaka App

Although traffic cones and diversions are disruptive to the community it indicates the council is achieving its planned, strategic investment in Wānaka’s infrastructure.

“Traffic cones mean we are getting stuff done," Queenstown Lakes District Council’s (QLDC) infrastructure committee chair Quentin Smith said.

The replacement of wastewater pipes on Aubrey Rd, from Beacon Point Rd to the lakeside pump station, will follow and council may also include upgrades to the stormwater network in the same area to minimise future disruption, QLDC media spokesperson Sam White said.

A number of pine trees were also felled alongside Mt Iron, near the intersection of State Highways 84 and 6, to make way for the underground installation of a new main water supply and new wastewater pipes connecting the existing networks from the intersection of Aubrey Road and State Highway 6 to the entrance to Three Parks.

The council outlines the location of the new North Wānaka water pipes and wastewater pipes being installed near Mt Iron, from State Highway 6 to Three Parks. IMAGE: QLDC

In consultation with the Wānaka Community Board another 20 trees opposite Puzzling World will also be removed to ensure their roots don’t interfere with the pipe network but council has  committed to planting new trees elsewhere, Sam said. 

Stage one of the North Wānaka project is expected to be complete by January 2023.

A new wastewater connection to the existing network near the Albert Town wastewater pump station will also be installed and a new wastewater pump station on Beacon Point Road is also planned.

It will provide “a significant amount of capacity and redundancy to ensure the risks associated with wastewater overflow are all but eliminated”, Quentin said.

“There is currently a lot of reliance on pumping sites close to the lake, like [the] Bremner Bay pump [station], and a failure is not really worth thinking about.” 

“This goes a long way to removing that risk.” 

All these activities are part of the QLDC’s $7.3M North Wānaka water supply and wastewater upgrade project designed to accommodate Wānaka’s growth and provide more resilience across the district’s water services network.