Find out how the Council manage Stormwater in the Queenstown Lakes District.

What is stormwater?
Stormwater is rain that runs off surfaces such as rooftops, paved streets, driveways and roads.  

Stormwater infrastructure is important to ensure that contaminants don’t get carried into our public waterways.  Left unchecked, stormwater could have a negative effect on the environment, and could also lead to flooding and land instability. 

What we do
The Council maintains seven public reticulated stormwater systems throughout the district – Queenstown, Wanaka, Arrowtown, Hawea, Glenorchy, Albert Town and Arthur’s Point. 

Other small settlements in the district, such as Kingston, Luggate and Makarora, have limited stormwater systems and generally rely on ground soakage and natural watercourses for their disposal of stormwater. 

The Council is working on catchment management plans for a number of rainfall catchment areas throughout the district.  These plans will help determine the size and location of future stormwater infrastructure.  See related links for more information.

How we do it
The Council contract United Water Limited to look after the maintenance and operation of all stormwater systems in the Queenstown Lakes District, except Lake Hayes.