6 December 2000

Waiheke Island’s first community wastewater treatment system is expected to be up and running next year, alleviating troublesome environmental problems in the Oneroa Village area.

Auckland City has been given the go-ahead to build the wastewater treatment plant, following an Environment Court consent order granting the necessary resource consents.

The $680,000 treatment plant will be built on Ocean View Road, half a kilometre inland from Matiatia Bay, and is expected to be completed in early autumn next year. The granting of the resource consent has enabled Council to conclude the purchase of the land on which the plant will be built.

The system will service Oneroa commercial properties and treat waste from public toilets in the Oneroa village and beach area where droves of visitors can overload existing sewage treatment systems each summer.

City Works committee chair Doug Astley says the plant has been a long time coming and he’s delighted it can now proceed.

“We had hoped to have it in place for this summer when the worst of the environmental impacts occur,” he said. “Now we can anticipate immediate improvements during 2001.”

Cr Faye Storer says the new system will bring major benefits to the Oneroa Village area.

“It will reduce odour problems in Oneroa which have detracted from people’s enjoyment of this popular holiday spot,” she said.

Tenders are now being called for design and construction of the treatment plant and construction of the rising main and work is programmed to begin early in January.

The Owhanake wastewater treatment plant will have the capacity to treat up to 70 cubic metres of sewage daily.

Wastewater will be collected through a reticulation network installed two years ago and pumped to the new treatment plant where it will be aerobically treated through a recirculating sand filter, sterilised by ultra violet light and then passed into a man-made wetland.

The receiving natural wetland and stream environments will benefit from the regular flow of water of high quality and clarity.

The total cost of the project, including land purchase, reticulation, access, and treatment plant and wetlands construction, is $2.3million.

ENDS

For further information please contact:
Cr Doug Astley, telephone 620 4923 or 025 2970 494
Cr Faye Storer, telephone 372 9702

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