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Knowledge Hub / The Network / Wastewater / Wastewater treatment plants / Porirua Wastewater Treatment Plant

Porirua Wastewater Treatment Plant

At the Porirua Treatment Plant, sewage travels through a series of screens, bioreactors, clarifiers and ultraviolet treatments before being discharged as liquid into Rukutane Point. 

For more information on how wastewater is treated, go to the treatment process. 

The consent for the Porirua Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) was recently renewed.

In general, the consents allow Porirua City Council to:

  • discharge treated effluent at Rukutane Point through an existing outfall,
  • discharge contaminants to the air
  • and permission to occupy the coastal marine area with a concrete deflection wall and outfall structure.

 

Upgrades to the plant’s UV treatment system and hydraulic capacity were completed in mid-2023.  The plant is now able to treat a peak flow of 1,500 litres per second.   In heavy rain the amount of wastewater delivered by the network can reach up to 1,300 litres per second.

Planning Ahead

Over coming decades, we want to keep reducing the volume and number of overflows from the wastewater network.

Overflows happen when rainwater overwhelms the wastewater pipe network, causing untreated wastewater to flow over land or into freshwater. This is objectionable, and abhorrent to mana whenua. Overflows contain bacteria that may make people sick if they come into contact with contaminated water.

We know where and when overflows happen from our monitoring, incidents reported by the community, and network modelling. Wellington Water and Porirua City Council have a view of where work is needed to reduce overflows and have already started on improvements.   For example, the central wastewater storage tank will reduce overflows into Porirua Stream, and the Eastern Porirua regeneration project will reduce overflows into Kenepuru Stream.

Resource consents

Resource consent reports

Plant performance

Odour Survey Reports

Complaints

Complaints Procedure

Complaints to the Porirua Wastewater Treatment plant can be sent to the following contact details:

Veolia Duty Manager (First Point of Contact): Call 0800 928 371.

Veolia’s duty manager contact number operates 24/7 as such complaints can be directly forwarded to them especially if the complaint is urgent and/or happened after office hours.

Wellington Water: Call 04 912 4470 or email customer@wellingtonwater.co.nz.

For Environmental and Pollution 24-hour hotline, call Greater Wellington Regional Council Hotline at 0800 496 734.

When a complaint is made, the following information will be recorded: 

    • Name 

    • Contact details of the customer 

    • Nature of the complaint 

    • Date and time 

    • Location 

Complaints shall be actioned within 24 hours upon receipt and the records being written to the plant’s operational incident log.

Odour and/or wastewater discharge complaints will be forwarded to the regional council.


Complaints Register

Odour Complaints

Wastewater Discharge Complaints

More Documents Here

Cawthron Institute Wastewater Treatment Plant Environmental Effects Assessment

Executive Summary - Porirua Wastewater Treatment Plant: Discharge of wastewater & discharge to air

Porirua Network Improvement Programme - Wastewater Overflow Reduction Master Plan Strategy November

Porirua Wastewater Network Improvements - Reports June 2021

Greater Wellington Regional Council Annual Compliance Monitoring Assessment

Incident Reports

Odour Control Best Practicable Option Review

Porirua Wastewater Treatment Plant Monitoring and Management Plan

Community Liaison Group (CLG) Meeting Minutes