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Resources / Topic / Wastewater / Wastewater treatment plants / Moa Point Wastewater Treatment Plant

Moa Point Wastewater Treatment Plant

At the Moa Point Treatment Plant, sewage travels through a series of screens, tanks, bioreactors, clarifiers and ultraviolet treatments before being discharged as liquid into Cook Strait.

It was granted new consents on 11 May 2009. These consents will continue for 25 years (expire 11 May 2034).

In general, the consents allow WCC:

  • to continuously discharge up to 260,000 cubic meters per day of treated and disinfected wastewater into the coastal marine area via an existing submarine outfall,
  • to discharge up to 4500 litres per second of mixed disinfected, treated and milli-screened wastewater to the coastal marine area during and/or immediately after heavy rainfall, when the quantity of wastewater arriving at the Moa Point Wastewater Treatment Plant exceeds 3000 litres per second,
  • to occupy the foreshore and seabed of the coastal marine area with an existing submarine outfall pipeline,
  • to continuously discharge contaminants (including odour) to air from the Moa Point Wastewater Treatment Plant ventilation system.

Resource consents

Resource consent reports

Plant performance



Current Status:
 Non-compliant 
Period: December 2023

Commentary:

The plant remains non-compliant for suspended solids (90-day, 90th percentile limit) since 20 September. The plant also became non-compliant for faecal coliforms on 30 October (90-day, 90th percentile limit). Current trends project plant effluent compliance in February.

Infringement Notices issued:

The plant received 2 infringements in December. One for non-compliant effluent quality and one for breaching Abatement Notice A981. Wellington City Council and Veolia also received infringements for the same occurrence.

Discharges

No unconsented discharges in December.

Odour:

No odour complaints in December.



Items of significance:

Effluent Compliance

Process changes to bring the effluent back into compliance are being undertaken. Indications from the treatment process are encouraging with quality trends improving. 

Clarifier #2 Renewal Project

Work to replace the main bearing and renew structural elements on the second clarifier will commence in January 2024. During this work, processing capacity will be reduced, but is being carried out over the summer/autumn months when effluent flows are expected to be lower.

Inlet Pump Station (IPS) Project

The next stage of the IPS upgrade will commence in March 2024 with procurement and installation of another two riser pipes and two pumps planned. The project will take place at the same time as the clarifier works, ensuring minimal impact on the daily operation of the plant.    

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