Wānaka’s Northlake development is one of its more affordable and modern residential areas, and has attracted many young families.
As part of the new neighbourhood, its developer, Winton, has created two swales on Outlet Rd, which are large basins designed to manage stormwater.
This has raised alarm bells with some Wānaka locals.
Retired doctor Susie Meyer immediately saw the swales as a pressing drowning risk.
She made the point that Queenstown Lakes District Council regulations required the construction of any outdoor swimming pool to include a fence for safety.
The swales are larger than most swimming pools, with a depth that fluctuates depending on stormwater collection.
However, they have been left without any protective barriers.
"Why is it that this risk is allowed to exist and that the developer is not required to fence off these significant bodies of water?" Dr Meyer said.
Longtime local Don McKinlay felt equally concerned.
Mr McKinlay had also been an advocate for the upkeep of stormwater runoff in Rockabilly Gully, which was in the same area as the new development.
He said he saw the swales as yet another piece of poor stormwater infrastructure in the region.
In addition to feeling the ground would not soak up the water properly, he was also concerned about the risk to young families moving to the development.
"Water attracts children, and this should have been fenced off. Sooner or later, a tragedy is going to occur and there won’t be any fallback."
In a statement, the council confirmed it had consented to the construction of the swales, but it did not find there was any special risk, as it had ensured the basins had a gradual slope.
"Council has no reason to be more concerned about this basin than other similarly designed basins or other open-water bodies within our district and beyond," a spokesperson said.
It also conducted an engineering assessment which concluded there would be low adverse effects on water quality.
Winton head of land development David Osborne said it had created the swales as normal practice to manage stormwater, maintaining the argument that the risk was present in any body of water.
"Similar risk exists with the foreshore of the Clutha River or Lake Wanaka," he said.
Both Dr Meyer and Mr McKinlay felt that a major part of the risk was not only the size of the swales but their proximity to family homes with children.
There were also no warnings and, unlike Lakes Wanaka and Hawea, the swales were unexpected bodies of water that could be a hazard to young children.
The developer felt the swales’ design, which included a gently graded side slope, provided an adequate layer of safety and therefore did not intend to fence the area.
