Guardians of Lake Hawea chairman Dave Currie said the hydro-electric storage lake had been kept at a high level, which could have been an aggravating factor for a recent slip at the Flora Dora cliffs near the popular Scotts Beach.
Recent high winds coupled with the high lake level could have exacerbated ongoing erosion in the area, he said.
A new fence was being erected, 5m back from the existing fence along the top of the cliff, but the bottom of the cliff was ‘‘another matter’’.
‘‘Our concern is if somebody is walking along the base of the cliff, and if there was a slip while that happened, then that could be catastrophic.’’
Although the area where the slip happened was not easily accessible — especially with the lake at a high level — Scotts Beach was very popular and people could still access the site.
The Guardians had contacted Contact and the Queenstown Lakes District Council and were satisfied with the response from both agencies, Mr Currie said.
The company also had interim works planned to further mitigate any risk to public safety, subject to receiving consent.
‘‘We already had plans under way to build a large retaining wall with rock armour along the Flora Dora cliffs.
‘‘We’re working with the Hawea Community Association to agree the best type of retaining wall.
‘‘From there, we will seek resource consents before this work can commence.’’
Mr Irvin, a Hawea local who has lived in the area for more than 20 years, said slips were just a part of living among the mountains.
‘‘It would be great to see — in places where we do have slips — to make them slip rather than just waiting for it to happen.
‘‘The new fence seems to have cut off my favourite part of the trail but that will be safety related,’’ he said.
