Residents and organisations have submitted strongly-worded opposition to an application for gold dredging in the Clutha River near Luggate.

Gold mining company Cold Clutha Gold Ltd wants to move its dredging operation from the mid-reaches of the Clutha, where it has been dredging since 2012, to an area between Luggate and the top of Lake Dunstan.

The company has operated at its current site without any complaints for a decade and the dredging is “a continuation of the rich history of gold dredges operating on the Clutha River,” the company’s planner said.

However, submissions received by Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) point to safety risks, environmental degradation and loss of amenity value, with a number saying the operation is inappropriate for a river stretch that is so popular with recreational users.

A submission from the Otago Fish and Game Council said the upper Clutha River is a productive and nationally important brown and rainbow trout fishery and the whole river is the most-fished river in the country.

In addition to anglers, the stretch of river also has a range of users, from boaties to kayakers and swimmers, and “the dredge has also been operating in a section of the waterway [that] in many cases, does not have the same high degree of amenity value or fishing opportunity.”

The proposal imposes “serious implications” for the health of the river, local fishing guide Jeff Forsee said, also pointing to concerns about the effect on amenity value for users.

“The upper Clutha is a remarkably intact environment with a thriving riparian zone,” Jeff said. “lt is a quiet, peaceful and pleasant place to spend time - the presence of the dredge will disrupt that significantly.”

The dredge is a 23.9m long, self-powered, steel commercial vessel with a suction-style dredge that effectively sucks up material from the river floor, sorts it, returns any excess to the river, and pumps the rest through a gold recovery system.

Central Otago Whitewater Ltd’s submission noted the dredge has two diesel two-stroke engines and said it would have a range of negative environmental effects, listing “sedimentation, habitat disturbance and loss, diesel spills, and the spread of unwanted organisms”.

The group’s submission also said there were major safety risks for river users from the dredge’s two mooring anchors and the wire rope which is tied to the riverbank, a large willow tree or rock protrusions to prevent slippage, and disagreed with the applicant’s statement that these cause “no impediment to river users and minimum risk to other vessels”.

A joint submission from Te Rūnanga o Moeraki, Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki, Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou and Hokonui Rūnanga (Kāi Tahu) opposed the proposal and highlighted the cultural, spiritual, historic and traditional relationship with the river and shared other submitters’ concerns about the effect on the environment.

Eleven of the 12 submissions received by Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) on the issue opposed the application.

The proposal also requires resource consent from two other councils - Central Otago District Council and Otago Regional Council - and public submissions have now closed on all three.

Cold Clutha Gold said it requested public notification of the applications so any interested parties can “engage in the process”, and it has requested a multi-council hearing.

The ORC, the lead consent authority for the application, has not yet announced a hearing date.

IMAGE: QLDC