Following steady rain earlier this week the stormwater pond serving the Alpha Series subdivision has once again overflowed onto Fish & Game land and into Bullock Creek.

The Friends of Bullock Creek (FOBC) group advised of the breach on its Facebook page, noting that the pond water looked “brown and muddy and there’s evidence of industrial rubbish”.

“We don’t know what contaminants are in the stormwater but given the subdivision is full of occupied houses and builders are constructing new homes near the pond, it’s fair to assume there will be pollutants in the storm water,” the group wrote.

The group filed a complaint with the Otago Regional Council’s pollution hotline.

FOBC member Roger Gardiner said the issue seems to be “taking forever” to get sorted, and the water “now seems to be a permanent lake on the F&G boundary”.

He said ongoing earthworks in the Alpha catchment appear to be increasing the volume of stormwater that has nowhere to go.

Rubbish in Bullock Creek following rain early this week. PHOTO: Supplied

“It would appear that there remains a significant downstream flooding risk to property adjoining the creek,” he added.

Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) chief engineer Ulrich Glasner told the Wanaka App the council has been working on a long-term stormwater management solution, and hoped agreement on the solution would be secured this month.

In the meantime, a temporary solution of an electric pump has been put in place to deal with high stormwater inflows, which will be removed when the water levels in the Alpha Series pond has lowered. 

“The short term solution will assist us in better managing the pond while the long term solution is approved by stakeholders, designed and constructed,” Ulrich said.

The small electric pump is in a sump in the Alpha Series pond, and will be switched on when stormwater begins to accumulate in the pond. The pump will discharge via a small buried pipeline to the Triton Arches stormwater soakage area upstream.