Te Anau officially opened a new multimillion-dollar state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant yesterday morning.
Wastewater from the plant was pumped to the Kepler disposal field near the Te Anau airport where it was discharged underground.
Southland District Council operations and planning manager Geoff Gray said the treated water filters were able to filter to .02 of a micron.
"It takes what was semiraw sewage and brings it into a clear, almost drinking water quality."
The plant had been future-proofed with the ability to expand the membrane bank of filters when required.
Council had managed to complete the project under its allocated $27million budget and with support of two grants from the Government’s Tourism Infrastructure Fund.
The official opening, which Southland district councillors attended, was carried out by Ruth Shaw and Alistair Paton-McDonald, who jointly chair Fiordland Sewerage Options, as well as Mayor Gary Tong and deputy mayor Ebel Kremer — as his last official event.
The hi-tech treatment plant had been built on the site of the region’s original discharge pond.
Construction had been under way for the past two years, he said.
Council had undergone lengthy engagement with the eco-friendly concept.
"This is one of the most advanced plants in the country now and it was quite a concept to get community agreement," Cr McIntosh said.
"It has been a very good result and a pleasure to see the acknowledgement of the community as well as the team that have built it."
Retiring Cr Kremer said the plant was one of the major projects he had been involved with since coming on to council in 2015.
He was impressed with the quality of workmanship of both the plant and implementation, particularly with the installation of the 20km pipe.
"During that whole process of getting a pipeline from Te Anau to the airport, not once did I ever receive a complaint about the roadside management and how they were managing that work site.
"It’s an absolute credit to them."
The hi-tech plant had been operational for the past six months. But the council wanted to delay an official opening to have time to deal with any potential teething problems.
Cr Kremer said the subsoil irrigation was a first for New Zealand and hoped the system would be an option for other regions to consider.
"It’s certainly the way forward for wastewater plants for the future.
"The days of just pumping wastewater into our waterways is pretty well over."
By: Toni McDonald
