Treated water set to flow at Napier's new sewage plant

Napier Mayor Bill Dalton (L) and deputy mayor Faye White (second left) joined by Napier city councillors, iwi representatives and others for a blessing of the Rakahore channel. PHOTO/WARREN BUCKLAND

Napier's new $32.7 million sewage-treatment plant is a step closer to completion with some wastewater due to start flowing through the Awatoto facility this week.

Napier Mayor Bill Dalton, city councillors, iwi representatives and others visited the site on Friday for a Maori blessing of the biological trickling filter plant's Rakahore channel - a rock-filled open channel that treated water flows through as the final stage of processing before being discharged into Hawke Bay via a 1.5km outfall pipe.

"It's very exciting to be close to the project's completion," said project manager Jayne Perrin.

"Friday's blessing provided an opportunity to test various parts of the new plant with fresh water before running wastewater this week," she said.

The concrete Rakahore channel - providing final cleansing before wastewater reaches the bay - was built by Gemco Construction then lined with rocks sourced from the Ngaruroro headwaters.

"Tangata whenua asked this be a component of the new plant and Napier City Council has worked closely with the liaison group during the consenting and design phases of the project," Ms Perrin said.

Under the council's consent conditions, it is required to have the plant operational by the end of this month.

Napier's existing wastewater milliscreening facility at Awatoto was commissioned in 1991. The new plant provides a secondary treatment process, following milliscreening, involving grit removal and biological treatment of the city's wastewater. An open day at the plant is planned in October.