Luggate Water Upgrades

Delivery of new water supply, treatment, and storage infrastructure for the township.
Three Waters

Project Status

Planned
In Progress
Completed

About the project

In response to the cryptosporidium outbreak that affected Queenstown’s water supply back in October 2023, we’re working to upgrade several treatment sites throughout the district to provide safe and fully compliant drinking water.

We already planned to introduce a new water scheme in Luggate in 2028, given more people are expected to make the township their home in the future and the existing water supply infrastructure is unable to meet that potential demand.

We’re now bringing that project forward and accelerating delivery of this infrastructure as part of works to introduce a protozoa barrier (UV disinfection) for Luggate.

Upgrades in Luggate will include access to a new water source through two new supply bores, new pipes to connect this infrastructure to the existing network, the new ultraviolet (UV) treatment solution, and development of a new long-term reservoir site.

We expect the new protozoa barrier (UV disinfection) to be operating by late January 2026.

The contract for this work was awarded to Fulton Hogan.

Qldc Luggate Water Supply Upgrades 800Px X 800Px Nov24

What to expect

As with any large construction project, there will be some disruption around Luggate while this project is being delivered. This includes temporary traffic management, construction machinery movements in the area, and may include noise and vibration too.

Work’s underway to install new water supply pipes from the northern end of Church Road and down towards State Highway 6, which will include excavations and trenching.

Crews are also busy working on the new supply bores and water treatment plant near town and developing the new long-term reservoir site up by Wānaka Airport.

Stop/go operating on Church Road

Both lanes of Church Road are open but a short section of the road is operating under stop/go.  We expect to remove this stop/go and completely open Church Road by the end of November.


Construction dates

Work begins on Monday 25 September and we expect the new protozoa barrier (UV disinfection) to be operating by late January 2026.

All remaining work will be completed by February 2026.

Construction delays

While crews have been working as hard as possible to deliver this project to a very tight schedule, some key elements at the borefield site have required design changes that have resulted in some delays.

Crews have also encountered difficult ground conditions when trenching along Church Road and construction of the new pipeline is taking longer than anticipated.

These delays mean the new supply bores and water source will not be connected to Luggate’s water network by Christmas, and are now expected to be operating by late January 2026.

We apologise for this delay and assure you that crews are working hard to make up for lost time where possible ahead of the festive season.


Contact us

If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please contact QLDC’s Services team on 03 443 0024 or email:

services@qldc.govt.nz 

Back to Council Projects