Northlake discharge studied

Work continues on the Northlake subdivision earlier this year. Photo / Tim Miller

The Otago Regional and the Queenstown Lakes District councils are investigating a potential sediment discharge into the Clutha River from a subdivision - and not for the first time.

Members of the public complained to the councils after sediment from the Northlake development in Wanaka was seen flowing into the river after heavy rain last week.

The developers of the Northlake subdivision, Winton Partners, were served with an abatement notice by the QLDC on Wednesday.

Winton Partners could not be contacted for comment yesterday.

An abatement notice is a warning to the recipient that they are contravening the Resource Management Act.

It was not the first time the council had warned the developers about sediment running into the river. The incident is also being investigated by the ORC.

QLDC spokesman Jimmy Sygrove said the council also received a complaint about a month ago which was investigated and ended with a warning being issued.

It was not the first time the development had been served with an abatement notice by the council. Last year a notice was issued to the developers due to dust problems around the site and infringement notices were issued.

ORC spokesman Mark Peart said the regional council's investigation was ongoing and he was unable to go into details of the issue.

It was also not the first time the regional council had investigated a complaint about the subdivision.

Penalties for breaching the RMA can range from $300 to $1000 for an infringement notice or a fine of up to $600,000 in the case of a prosecution.