WATERCARE
WATERCARE Providing lifeline services to 1.7 Million Aucklanders
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atercare are New Zealand’s largest company in the water and wastewater industry, supplying more than 400 million litres of water to Auckland every day. The company draw water from 27 sources, treat it and supply it to homes and businesses via a vast network of pipes. Watercare collect, treat and dispose of around 396 million litres of wastewater daily, including trade waste from industry. Auckland‘s population is growing significantly. Over the next 30 years, the city will need room for another one million people. Developing and upgrading infrastructure is a key to improving local communities, and reducing environment risks. At any one time Watercare have multiple projects happening across Auckland, making the city a better place to live. CENTRAL INTERCEPTOR Construction of the Central Interceptor tunnel began in 2019 and is expected to complete in 2025. Once completed it will ensure that Auckland’s waterways are cleaner. The tunnel will run underground from Grey Lynn to our Māngere Wastewater Treatment Plant, and at over 14km in length, it will be the longest wastewater tunnel in New Zealand. The Central Interceptor is an integral part of Watercare’s long-term strategy to effectively manage wastewater within Auckland. By building the tunnel,
Watercare will also be working on other projects in the western isthmus, such as separating the stormwater and wastewater pipes. Together, the Central Interceptor and the western isthmus strategy will reduce overflows in the area by up to 80 per cent. The existing wastewater pipeline that passes under the Manukau Harbour was built in 1964. This pipe is now reaching the end of its operational life. If the pipe is damaged or fails, untreated wastewater
could be discharged into the Manukau Harbour. Speaking at the ceremonial dig Auckland Mayor, Phil Goff said, “The Central Interceptor is one of the most significant infrastructure projects in Auckland. Together with Watercare and Auckland Council’s other projects in Auckland’s western isthmus, it will substantially improve water quality and reduce wastewater overflows by at least 80 per cent, while providing for population
growth in the city.” After ten months being constructed in a German factory and a month travelling the high seas, the Central Interceptor Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), safely arrived in New Zealand at the end of 2020. Central Interceptor executive programme director Shayne Cunis commented, “Despite the challenges we have faced with COVID-19, we have made significant progress on the project, and the arrival of the TBM sets us up for another great year in 2021.”
Proudly delivering innovative solutions to complex engineering projects WHO WE ARE Pipeline and Civil are proven to provide innovative and technically sound solutions to complex projects involving critical assets; designed to mitigate risks while guarding a client’s reputation. We offer specialist civil engineering services that are applicable across a wide range of sectors with particular focus on challenging, high consequence infrastructure projects. Key to our success is superior client and stakeholder engagement, the retention of technically skilled staff and our risk management processes. Based in Auckland, Pipeline & Civil is a private company, wholly owned by the senior management and supervisory staff. This translates to a boutique experience for our clients, who appreciate the attention to detail and passion for what we build.
OUR EXPERTISE We build challenging construction projects using our own in-house resources and specialist experience. Our areas of expertise include the ‘3 waters’ (water, wastewater, stormwater) infrastructure, civil engineering, concrete structures, large diameter pipelines, dam engineering, earthworks and land development, road and bridge construction and more. Innovation is at the core of what we do, and this is where Pipeline & Civil stands out – from innovation in specialised equipment to innovation in the way we work and solve problems.
www.pipelinecivil.co.nz | P: +64 9 831 0005
BOOSTING WATER SUPPLY Recent completion of a new water treatment plant in Papakura helped boost Auckland’s water supply by six million litres a day. The project is part of our drought response and is being built in two stages on the site of the old Papakura Water Treatment Plant, which has been largely demolished. Total cost of reinstating the supply from the Ōtūwairoa/Hays Creek Dam, which includes the construction of a new water treatment plant and significant upgrades to Watercare’s water distribution system, is $68 million. Project delivery has been staged to make sure the supply can be reinstated as quickly as possible. Stage one
included the construction of a temporary treatment plant and the replacement of the Papakura No. 2 watermain from the treatment plant to the intersection of Hunua and Dominion Roads, which became operational after only six months of design, consenting and construction. The second stage will be a permanent treatment plant, which is already under way and expected to be completed by the end of the year. Head of operations excellence Priyan Perera says most of the stage one plant is designed to be relocated, so things like tanks, vessels, pumps and equipment can be moved to the stage two site as part of the new plant to minimise waste and overall project cost. Some parts of the temporary treatment plant will become part of our mobile
water treatment systems fleet, which can be deployed either within its system in an emergency or to assist other water suppliers if required. “We’re building two plants but with the equipment for one. The two stages of the project are running in parallel – we are building the permanent plant while we are commissioning the temporary plant.” Only two treated water reservoirs remain from the original water treatment plant and they have been upgraded and repurposed for the new plant. “We have worked with a number of suppliers, consultants and contractors during the past six months, all of whom have done a great job and worked at pace for us,” says Perera. “We had to decommission and demolish the former Papakura Water Treatment Plant, prepare working platforms, construct process equipment in multiple engineering workshops and the put a plan together to make this all fit on a very tight site. Fletcher Construction and their partners have continued this work and brought the first stage of this project together within an extremely tight timeframe.” Because Ōtūwairoa/Hays Creek Dam has an unprotected catchment and the risk of contamination is higher, the treatment plant needs more complex treatment processes. “We coagulate the water to bring together clay, silt, protozoa and bacteria into larger particles we call floc,” says Perera.
“After we separate the bulk of the floc from the water using our lamella plate clarifier, we use membrane filters to remove the remaining floc particles. Next, the water goes through the carbon filters to remove any taste and odour compounds. The carbon filters can also remove some pesticides or herbicides that may be present. “The water then goes through a containerised UV disinfection system before it is further disinfected with chlorine.” The treated water is then stored in an onsite reservoir before it is piped to the wider water supply network. The new pipeline that connects the plant to the Papakura network has been a complex piece of work. Our team led the contractors, working at pace to install a large watermain in a constrained environment in a short space of time. “Our pipeline team has worked very hard and coordinated with our water treatment plant team to achieve this incredible outcome,” says Perera. The plant and pipeline will help supply Papakura and potentially Karaka in the future and will increase the network resilience. SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT Watercare’s supply chain activities offer a unique opportunity to achieve both sustainable and broader economic, environmental, social and cultural outcomes. As a provider of reliable,
safe and efficient water and wastewater services, the company work closely with it’s suppliers to enable positive sustainable outcomes for it’s customers and communities. The way Watercare buy will vary depending on the value, complexity and risks involved, and they tailor their approach to suit each activity. Important principles in Watercare’s procurement process encourages innovation & collaboration, creating opportunities for local businesses, increasing the skill level of the New Zealand domestic construction sector and achieving positive environmental outcomes through sustainable supply chains that promote low emission and low waste good, services & works.
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Oliver Moy Publisher
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