Pukekohe Water Treatment Plant rehabilitation

The latest

Phase 1 works

Critical operational components inside the control room have been relocated and upgraded.

The thrusting work (see photo below) to install new cable ducts through Hickeys Recreation Reserve to Crisp Avenue is also complete. The new cables will be pulled through these ducts by the end of November. In early December the new power connections to the bore sites will be tested.

Some areas of the reserve will retain small exclusion areas where excavation has taken place. These will be surrounded by protection fencing throughout summer.

Phase 2 works

Works within the reserve are scheduled to take place between February and May. This work includes the construction of a new chemical dosing building near Dublin Street. This location is outside the floodplain and will provide more resilience for the treatment plant. The old control building will be decommissioned and used for non-operational purposes.

The project is still on track to be able to run production in December 2024.

Project overview

The Auckland Anniversary flood event of 2023 caused severe localised flooding, measured at 48m above sea level which is comparative to the expectations of a 1 in 100-year flood event. As a result, a large portion of the Pukekohe water treatment plant site was flooded, impacting several key operational assets which took the plant out of service. This project is both the rehabilitation of the plant and to improve its resilience against future flood events.

The treatment plant during the flood

The treatment plant now

The works

We have been relocating operational parts of the treatment plant that were prone to flooding. A new purpose-built structure will be placed at the Dublin Road bore site to facilitate chemical dosing. The remainder of flood prone systems will be relocated within the current treatment plant site. The old building will be retained for non-operational purposes.

The power cable to the Crisp Avenue bore site was also damaged and requires installation of new cable ducts using a technique called thrusting. For thrusting cable ducts through from the treatment plant to Crisp Avenue, we will excavate at four points across the site. Thrusting involves pushing small cable ducts into place without the need of trenching or boring. This is likely to have very minimal long-term impact on the reserve.

Most of the works required for rehabilitation will take place on our land.

How does the work affect you?

• Working hours are between 7am to 6pm Monday to Friday. Saturday will only be used if necessary.

• Construction work will be within the current Watercare designated site and within Hickeys Recreation Reserve.
• There will be no disruption to traffic, but there will be some small exclusion zones established within the reserve.

• The work may generate some noise and vibration, however, we aim to keep this to a minimum and within Auckland Council consent conditions.