Kerikeri's long-delayed $27M wastewater treatment plant nearing completion

Kerikeri's new wastewater treatment plant is almost ready to go.

Construction of Kerikeri's long-delayed new $27 million wastewater treatment plant is nearing completion, with the inspection of mechanical and electrical components now under way.

The news will likely be welcomed in the town, with many residents expressing frustration that it had taken so long.

In August last year, the Northern Advocate reported the plant was to have been completed by December 2019. By December, FNDC said the plant was to be completed in April and at the start of July its forecast had the plant due to be finished by the end of next month.

The Northern Advocate also reported that Kerikeri households and businesses were expected to be able to connect to the scheme by July this year. By December last year, FNDC said this would happen in September this year.

The council said the inspection, part of the plant's commissioning process, involves checking every element of the plant, including all mechanical and electrical components, and instrumentation. It also starts the biological processes at the heart of the plant, so it is ready to receive and treat wastewater.

That work is due for completion in late November, and will involve engineers, contractors, suppliers, council staff and the council's alliance partner, Far North Waters.

Homes and businesses in the extended area of benefit will then be connected to the plant, a process that is due for completion by April next year.

Mayor John Carter said the plant and reticulation system would be a game-changer for Kerikeri, and expected property owners to be relieved that the end for the project was now in sight.

"There have been delays, and I acknowledge that has been frustrating for home owners and businesses. However, I am confident we now have a facility that will more than meet the town's growth for decades to come," Carter said.

The plant would be able to treat 1000 cubic metres of sewage a day, and could be expanded to meet future growth, eventually treating up to 2000 cubic metres a day.

The project had also expanded the sewerage network around Kerikeri. That had already added 350 existing homes and businesses that use septic tanks to the reticulated system, and ultimately a further 2000 properties would be able to connect.

Carter said completion of the project would significantly reduce the town's reliance on on-site disposal systems, and allow it to use urban land more efficiently.

The final phase of the project would be to decommission the ageing existing plant in Shepherd Rd, once the switch to the new system was completed in April.

Meanwhile, a $6 million upgrade of Paihia's wastewater treatment plant to ensure it complied with its resource consent had been completed ahead of schedule. Work began in July last year with the installation of 552 bioshell reactors in the second oxidation pond along with the aeration pipework, blowers and a generator.

The project was completed in March, two months ahead of schedule and the deadline set by the Environment Court, which has commended the council for resolving a difficult and sensitive issue in a timely and cost-effective manner.