Mairangi Bay Pump Station On Track For October

As the final pieces of the Mairangi Bay Wastewater Pump Station slot into place, Watercare and its construction partner Pipeline & Civil begin the installation of the 160-metre pipeline on Montrose Terrace.

Taking shape on the corner of Sidmouth Street and Montrose Terrace, the $22.5 million pump station will significantly reduce wet weather overflows in the area and is on track for construction to be completed in October.

Watercare project manager Dirk du Plessis says with much of the electrical, mechanical and odour control fit outs is well underway.

“Once completed, the pump station will be able to handle flows of up to 625 litres per second, compared to the existing station’s flow rate of 340 litres per second and will have an integrated storage wet well of 230,000 litres.

“This extra pumping capacity and storage will significantly reduce the likelihood of overflows into Mairangi Bay in wet weather when stormwater can overload our networks.

“We’re on track to finish construction in October and hope to have the pump station in operation before summer kicks in.”

The current pump station on Sidmouth St will be demolished once the new pump station is operational.

Besides the practicalities and benefits of the new pump station, what Du Plessis likes about the new pump station will be the final look of it.

“At the beginning of the project, we wanted to make sure the pump station would not only reduce wet weather overflows and cater for growth but also blend into the reserve’s surroundings.”

Although the project is on the home stretch, locals can expect some disruption along Sidmouth Stand Montrose Terrace while the project team completes a new 160m pipeline.

To keep Mairangi Bay moving while we complete this work, we have reduced Sidmouth Street and Montrose Terrace to one lane to allow for carparks on Montrose Terrace (behind the Beach Road shops) and footpaths to remain open, says Du Plessis.

“To enter the carpark, turn into Sidmouth Street, and follow the one-way traffic system onto Montrose Terrace all the way around until you see a sign for the car parks.

“We’d like to thank the community for their patience while we carry out this work. The new pipeline will relieve pressure on the network and help to reduce wet weather overflows.

“We’re installing it using horizontal directional drilling rather than open trenching, which allows us to get the job done faster as it creates less ground disturbance. This means we’ll be able to remediate and get the roads back to two lanes faster.

“We aim to complete the pipeline and have the roads back to two lanes by October.”

© Scoop Media