The new Opal Drive Pump Station is a key project within our planned wastewater services upgrade in Pāpāmoa.
It's also a key pump station in our wider wastewater network. It pumps the majority of wastewater flows from the eastern and central Pāpāmoa area and Wairākei Urban Growth Area through to the Te Maunga wastewater treatment plant.
The existing Opal Drive Pump Station is aging and does not have capacity for future flows. It's also a former package treatment plant that was converted to a pump station in 1991. We're investing in this vital pump station to make sure we have a resilient wastewater service for the Pāpāmoa East community.
Latest update - 28 August 2024
In the week of 2 September 2024, earthworks will start construction. 3400m3 soil will be moved from Opal Drive to the storage site at Topaz Reserve, with trucks moving between both sites frequently.
To keep everyone safe during this work, a daytime closure for through traffic will apply on Opal Drive on weekdays between 7am and 6pm. Traffic will be diverted via Topaz Drive, Domain Road, and Doncaster Drive. This will take up to 10 weeks.
Residents continue to have access to their homes and pedestrian and cycle access across the Wairākei Reserve remains open. Site access crossings will be monitored, including during school start and finish, to ensure kids’ safety.
We thank everyone in advance for their patience during this phase.
Once construction has been completed, soil will be returned to the pump station site and Topaz Reserve reinstated.
What’s included in the Opal Drive Pump Station project
The works include:
- Earthworks to install the new pump station and storage tanks
- Pipeline realignments/construction in the road and storm water reserve
- Construction of a generator and control buildings
- Construction of a biofilter for odour control
- Construction of two additional storm water culverts across Opal Drive where it crosses the storm water reserve (more information below)
We’re constructing the new Opal Drive Pump Station on council-owned land at 45 Opal Drive next to the current station.
We're conscious we're working in a residential area, so we're taking extra care to keep the area clean and tidy, and to look after the environment when moving/storing this soil. During this process we are following guidelines provided by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council.
Once we are certain the new station is complete and ready for use, we will decommission the old pump station and safely dismantle it before remediating the site – this will be a separate project.
We expect the Opal Drive Pump Station project will take around 18 months to complete.
Additional storm water culverts
As part of the Opal Drive Pump Station project, we will build two new storm water culverts, which are pipelines under the ground. This project will provide additional capacity for stormwater flows in the Wairakei stream.
The Opal Drive culverts have been scheduled to be completed at the same time as the Opal Drive Pump Station because we need to dig up the road to lay pipes to the new pump station. Combining the two activities at the same time will help to minimise the disruption to the community.
These works are likely to get underway from the second half of 2024. This will involve the closure of Opal Drive for an extended period, with detours in place. We will work with our contractor to minimise the disruption and expect to be able to maintain pedestrian access from one side of Opal Drive to the other.
What is wastewater?
Wastewater is the water we use in our homes and workplaces. Each time you flush the toilet, pull the plug from a sink, or have a shower, that water drains into a wastewater pipe on your property. The pipeline on your property connects to the wastewater network, which carries the water safely to a treatment plant where the water is treated (cleaned) and then released.
What’s next?
Shortly after we complete works on the Opal Drive Pump Station, we’ll start construction on the Wairākei Pump Station. Situated close to Golden Sands Primary and against the school boundary, this is a designated site for the pump station. We expect the build time to take around 12-15 months and due to the challenge of accessing the site this may cause some disruption to the roads and accessways along the reserve. These works are all part of our Pāpāmoa Wastewater Masterplan.
