Challenges Facing Wastewater

Cities across New Zealand have faced the consequences of poorly managed wastewater services, with evidence of untreated or partially treated water and significant sewerage overflow events occurring – this is something our communities will not and should not be prepared to risk.

• Our current wastewater service assets, such as pipes and pumps, are becoming more and more unreliable, with many of them reaching the end of their useful life.
• As our community grows our infrastructure networks need to grow with it; meeting the needs of all of our people. This requires additional network assets; more and improved wastewater treatment capacity; and, much greater technical skills in order to reliably and cost-effectively manage an expanding demand on the wastewater network.
• Our current wastewater services delivery method provides no certainty on the annual operating costs of the service, neither does it offer an ability to control the future cost of operation. This is a significant concern for the Council, as it is not a sustainable service method in the long-term.