27 June 2002

New Regional Landfill Will Treat Its Leachate At Christchurch’s Sewage Treatment Plant.

Kate Valley Landfill will collect its leachate in a sophisticated system of drainage pipes sandwiched between the refuse and the impermeable layer, says Mike Stockwell, Christchurch City Council City Water and Waste Manager.

This leachate, rising eventually to 50m³ per day, will be tankered to Christchurch and treated by the Bromley Sewage Treatment Plant.

“This amount is about what 50 households would produce in any one day, so it is a very small fraction of the 150,000m³ treated daily by our plant,” says Mr Stockwell. “Experience around the world shows that the contaminant levels in the leachate will not be any worse than the many other industrial trade waste liquids accepted at Bromley.”

“Contrary to what an advertisement placed by the Pegasus Bay Beach Users Association in the Press on Thursday might suggest, treatment of landfill leachate in this way is modern practice around the world, and is becoming widely adopted in New Zealand, particularly in the Auckland region.”

For more information, contact:
Mike Stockwell, City Water and Waste Manager, on 941-8332, or
Mike Bourke, Operations and Maintenance Manager, on 941-8384.

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