Published 30/10/2019
Open day highlights improvements planned for Porirua’s wastewater system
Wellington Water is hosting two open days to help answer questions the community might have about the operation of the Porirua Wastewater Treatment Plant and the city’s wastewater network.
People interested in how the system operates and what is being planned are invited to attend on either of:
- Thursday 7 November, 6-8:30pm, Te Rauparaha Arena (Meeting Room 1)
- Saturday 9 November 11am-2pm, Titahi Bay Bowling Club
“We’ll have people from Wellington Water available to talk about Porirua’s wastewater system and our plans to improve it for the community and the environment” says Wellington Water’s wastewater contracts manager Anna Hector.
Porirua City Mayor Anita Baker says the city’s network is aging and reaching the limit of its capacity. “This affects the water quality in our harbour. We’ve made some improvements to pumping stations and the network in recent years but there’s more work to do.”
Guided tours of the wastewater treatment plant are also being offered on Saturday 9 November at 12pm, 1pm and 2pm. People will need to register for the tour at the Titahi Bay Bowling Club Open Day.
Miss Hector said there have been upgrades to the treatment plant over the past seven years and more improvements are now planned as part of Wellington Water’s application to renew the treatment plant’s resource consent next year. These aim to increase the treatment capacity of the plant from 1,000 litres to 1,500 litres of wastewater per second.
“Once these improvements are made the treatment plant will be fit for purpose,” said Mayor Anita Baker.
The wastewater treatment plant is funded by Porirua and Wellington city residents and Wellington Water is responsible for its operations and maintenance. It is located near Rukutane Point, just south of Titahi Bay, and treats wastewater from Porirua City and northern Wellington suburbs.
“The capacity upgrades and other technical improvements planned will ensure the treatment plant can fully treat all the flows that reach it and will avoid any bypassing of parts of the wastewater treatment process,” says Ms Hector.
Bypassing can occur during periods of heavy rainfall when the wastewater system gets overrun with stormwater, resulting in some partially treated wastewater being discharged.
Mayor Baker said the next area of focus for Wellington Water would be the wastewater network that transports wastewater from homes and businesses to the treatment plant.
Key facts:
- The Porirua wastewater treatment plant was built in 1989 for a population of 80,000 people
- The plant now serves a population of over 93,000 from Porirua City and Northern Wellington suburbs
- The treatment plant is jointly owned by Porirua City Council and Wellington City Council who share the costs of running the plant
- Fully treated discharge from the plant is of a comparable quality to other treatment plants in the region such as Moa Point, Seaview and Karori
- Over 99% of the wastewater from the plant is fully treated
- Once the planned upgrades are completed the plant will be fit for purpose and will be able to fully treat all the wastewater that reaches it
- More work is required to improve the aging wastewater infrastructure that transports wastewater from homes and businesses to the treatment plant