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The completion of a $123 million wastewater treatment plant at the end of Hamatana Road, at Snells Beach, has been pushed out to the middle of next year.
The new plant is part of the North-East Growth Scheme, a major infrastructure upgrade for the region to improve water quality in the Mahurangi River and cater for growth.
Originally, it was expected to come online early this year, but Watercare senior project manager Casper Kruger says it is now looking more like the middle of next year.
“We’re continuing to make good progress with most of the plant structures finished,” Kruger says.
“We’re currently installing process equipment, interconnecting pipework and electrical components for the plant.
“Just before Christmas, the project team completed a huge milestone in installing the plant’s activated sludge reactor, which handles the sequential removal of nitrates and other harmful contaminants from the wastewater during treatment.
“We are currently completing a water tightness test on the activated sludge reactor and preparing the plant for the new transformers and cable installation in August.”
Work is about to start on the second leg of the Warkworth to Snells Beach pipeline that will connect the Lucy Moore wastewater pump station to the new treatment plant.
Stage one of the project was finished in 2021 and involved laying a 7.5km underground outfall pipeline from the treatment plant site to a discharge point off the coast of Martins Bay.
“Next year, we will focus on completing the site, upgrading the Hamatana access road and bringing the Snells Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant into service,” Kruger says.
The Snells Beach facility will have a three-step wastewater treatment process, including UV disinfection.
Once it is operational, the existing Warkworth Wastewater Treatment Plant off Alnwick Street will be decommissioned.
Meanwhile, the Lucy Moore Wastewater Pump Station, which is an integral part of the overall system, is on track to be finished this month.
Watercare senior project manager Dirk Du Plessis says the project team will perform final checks on the pump station and commissioning the equipment to ensure seamless operation.
“We have recently finished planting and landscaping around the pump station’s exterior to help it blend into the park surroundings,” he says.
