Go button pushed on Wastewater Treatment Plant

When Hastings residents flush their toilet today the wastewater will go somewhere different to where it went yesterday.

Group Manager: Asset Management David Fraser says a massive milestone is being reached for the East Clive Wastewater Treatment Plant as the inlet gates are opened to take domestic sewage from the urban areas of Hastings.

“Project planning started in 1998 and has been driven by the HDC Tangata Whenua Wastewater Committee, a partnership between the Hastings District Council and Tangata Whenua.

“So this represents more than a decade of hard work on this project from Council, Tangata Whenua, MWH, designers and contractors,” Mr Fraser says.

Research for the project included reconfiguring a similar plant in Spain and now more Spanish sites are following the Hastings design.

Until now wastewater has been run through screens but the new plant will improve the quality of the treated effluent discharged to Hawke Bay through the innovative combination of several technologies.

“Bacteria which purify the waste stream will take around 4 to 8 weeks to build up their numbers on the black plastic petals that fill the two tanks,” Mr Fraser says.

While this is happening, landscaping around the site will begin.

An official opening is being organised once the landscaping is complete and the treatment process has settled in.