The new Opal Drive Pump Station is a key project within our planned wastewater services upgrade in Pāpāmoa, and wider wastewater network.
It will pump 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 temporary 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 - 20 December
Our crews on-site are taking a break over the Christmas period from Thursday 19 December. Work on site will resume from Tuesday 14 January 2025.
You may notice some crew on-site earlier than the start date; however, no major work will begin before this.
The team will begin sheet piling when they return. Sheet piling involves metal interlocking plates, installed into the ground, that allow us to safely excavate while retaining the surrounding soil and manage groundwater. This is essential to be able to maintain safe and workable platform below ground to build foundations for the new facility.
Once that's complete, work will continue on:
- Installing stone columns to improve the soil’s bearing capacity
- Foundations for the buildings and structures
- The wet well and functional chamber of the pump station
- Installation of pipes to support wastewater and stormwater reticulation
What’s included in the Opal Drive Pump Station project
The works include:
- Earthworks to install the new pump station and storage tanks – completed
- 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 expect to find a range of contaminants in wastewater, including heavy metals, PFAS and microplastics. Given the historical use of the Opal Drive site for wastewater disposal, we carried out an analysis of the soil at the site prior to work starting. We found contaminants as we would expect in the soil at this site. Whilst concentrations of these are below human and environmental health limits, the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Tauranga City Council are taking a cautious approach to this work in accordance with national best practice.
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 two years 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 large concrete pipelines under the ground. This project will provide additional capacity for stormwater flows in the Wairakei stream.
he 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 mid-2025 onwards. 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. Exact dates will be communicated well in advance in the new year.
Soil storage at Topaz Reserve
To make room for the new storage tanks and pump infrastructure at the site, approximately 3400m3 of soil needs to be dug up. There is not enough room to store this soil on site. Following extensive discussion with Bay of Plenty Regional Council while preparing the resource consent application, it was determined the best course of action was to temporarily stockpile the material at Topaz Reserve and return it to the pump station site as backfill around the pump station underground structures, storage tanks and pump infrastructure.
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. These works are all part of our Pāpāmoa Wastewater Masterplan.
