Members of local iwi group Te Haa o te Whenua o Kirikiriroa (THaWK) joined Hamilton City Council staff and contractors from HEB Construction on Tuesday 3 December to bless the site of the Hillsborough wastewater pump station upgrade.

THaWK manager Rawiri Bidois said mana whenua are happy to support a project that helps our city prepare for the future, while at the same time helps to protect one of our most important taonga, the Waikato River.

“The awa and its wellbeing is at the heart of our city. It is vitally important for us as guardians to keep it safe and healthy. Once construction is complete, this pump station upgrade will help achieve this. It is equally important to ensure that the environment is front of mind while construction takes place.”

The pump station, located next to Grantham St just south of Victoria Bridge, will be relocated to improve accessibility and upgraded to increase storage and flow capacity. The site pumps wastewater from the south-eastern area of the central city across Victoria Bridge (on the underside of the bridge) to the main wastewater line on the eastern side of the Waikato River.

Project manager Pieter de Klerk says “the Hillsborough pump station is a critical site in our wastewater network operation, and this upgrade project will improve our network resilience and enable future growth of the city.”

HEB Construction have been contracted by Hamilton City Council to complete the works and will begin construction of the major $5m upgrade project prior to Christmas. Works are expected to be complete in mid 2020.

For more information about this project, please visit hamilton.govt.nz/hillsboroughpumpstation

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