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Construction of the Snells Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant will start next month.
The new plant will be built close to the existing facility in Hamatana Road, which will eventually be decommissioned.
The new plant will cost $123 million and 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.
Stage one of the project was finished in March last year and involved laying a 7.5km underground outfall pipeline from the treatment plant site to a discharge point off the coast of Martins Bay. The new treatment plant is part of stage two.
Once the project is completed in 2024, the existing Warkworth Wastewater Treatment Plant will be decommissioned, putting an end to treated discharges into the Mahurangi River as well as significantly reducing wet-weather overflows.
Watercare project manager Casper Kruger says this will see a major improvement in water quality.
“This marks an exciting new chapter in the history of this waterway and the harbour that the community holds so dear,” he says.
The Snells Beach facility will have a three-step wastewater treatment process, including UV disinfection. It will treat flows from the Warkworth, Snells Beach and Algies Bay communities and will cater for population growth over the next 35 years.
Kruger says the plant is due to be completed in December 2023 and will feature plant buildings, inlet works, screens and treatment tanks.
Work is being carried out under Watercare’s innovative Enterprise Model.
“Safety, carbon reduction and cost will be key drivers in this project. This means that in coming months, residents may notice less traditional building work going on and more unusual sights, such as trucks carrying whole prefabricated buildings to the site, as well as giant membrane reactor tanks.
“Most of these elements will be sourced in New Zealand and will be pre-tested before they’re installed, so there’ll be huge savings in time, as well as reducing the size of our carbon footprint.”
Fletcher Construction is one Watercare’s two Enterprise key partners and will be delivering the project. Digital technology, including drones will assist engineers with design planning and construction monitoring. There are also plans to keep residents in touch with developments with the use of virtual reality cameras to enable a 360 degree walk around the site.
