An estimated 10,000 litres of sewage was released into a reserve area near Lake Hayes yesterday morning, but quick action meant none of it entered the lake.
Queenstown Lakes District Council engineering services general manager Mark Kunath said contractors discovered the spill yesterday morning, and acted promptly to get repairs and a cleanup under way.
He said an old, outgoing pipeline at the Bendemeer pump station was to blame for the spill, after suffering mechanical failure on Tuesday night, as contractors entered the final phases of the $2 million Lake Hayes upgrade.
"Repairs were carried out at the pump station and sucker trucks deployed to clean up the spill. The area has now been decontaminated," he said.
The spill did not cause any setbacks to the commissioning of the new sewage pipeline, scheduled for tomorrow, which was essential to eliminate ongoing breakages to the line.
The upgrade would ensure a vast improvement to a significant piece of infrastructure, Mr Kunath said.
