Auckland's first permanent non-potable tanker filling station brought into service

Today, we bring into service Auckland’s first permanent non-potable tanker filling station in Māngere, easing demand on the city’s drinking water supply.

The $1.2 million tanker filling station replaces the temporary non potable tanker filling station in Penrose, which has been providing untreated water for non-drinking purposes to commercial customers since 2020.

The filling station will be available to commercial customers for non-drinking purposes such as dust suppression, house cleaning, irrigation and process water.

Photo: Looking down on a tanker about to fill up at the new non-potable station

Head of water Sharon Danks says the new filling station has the capacity to supply around 120,000 litres of non-drinking water each day.

“This facility is a significant step towards minimising the use of drinking water for non-drinking purposes.

“Right now, we’re encouraging Aucklanders to be mindful of their water use, particularly outdoors, given the dry weather we’re experiencing.”

Danks describes the non-potable tanker filling station as a cost-effective solution for commercial customers and construction partners.

“We anticipate achieving full cost recovery for the new permanent tanker filling station at Māngere, with the revenue generated from the sale of non-potable water expected to cover ongoing operational costs.

“Also, having a permanent non-potable tanker filling station means we can expand the service to more commercial customers who may be interested in using untreated water for non-potable use.

Project manager Mohamed Abdelmageed says the new non-potable tanker filling station will draw water from a newly constructed bore that is already on-site.

“The tanker filling station will have the capacity to service around 20 tankers a day. It’s fully automated, so tanker drivers will need to use a swipe card to access and fill up their tankers."

Abdelmageed says the tanker filling station will be designed to fill one tanker at a time.

Photo: Intorock Drilling operations manager Tania Shaw is a fan of the new station

Intorock Drilling operations manager Tania Shaw says that having the facility operational will allow them to utilise untreated water rather than potable water for flow testing in both existing and newly constructed rockbore stormwater systems.

“To do this testing we need to bring in approximately 15,000 litres of water.

"The test measures how quickly a rockbore soakhole can dispose of water in a stormwater catchment area.

“We generally perform 2 to 3 of these tests per day, occasionally up to 5 to 6.

“Having better and ongoing access to a non-potable tanker filling station means we can use untreated water for this process instead of drinking water, allowing more treated drinking water to stay in the network for Aucklanders to use, especially during periods of drier weather.”