Oakura Sewerage Project

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Oakura Sewerage Project

The new reticulated sewerage system being installed in Oakura as an alternative to septic tanks is to ensure the sustainability of the local environment.

The system includes the construction of about 38km of sewer pipeline from Oakura to New Plymouth and three minor pump stations to convey the town’s sewage to a transfer pump station in Shearer Reserve, Oakura. The sewage will be pumped from Shearer Reserve to Botany Pl in New Plymouth via the pipeline along State Highway 45, finally ending up in the New Plymouth Wastewater Treatment Plant for treatment along with the city’s wastewater.

All of the approximately 680 properties in Oakura will be able to connect to the new reticulated sewerage system. Currently 581 property owners have chosen to connect.

Current work locations

Contract	Contractor	Current work location (June 2009)
Part A - Western area	Dormer Construction Ltd	Complete
Part B - Wairau Stream / Rd area	Whitaker Civil Engineering Ltd	Wairau Stream
Part C - Central area	Downer Works EDI Ltd	Matekai Park
Part D - Eastern area	Whitaker Civil Engineering Ltd	Complete
Part E - Messenger Tce	D Paku	Complete
Trunk main - Oakura to NP	Keenan Contracting Ltd	Complete
Pump stations	Fulton Hogan Ltd	Shearer Reserve Corbett Park (South Rd) - The Key.

Photos above (from left) - Building the Corbett Park pump station control room (June 09). Block work for the Corbett Park pump station control room (June 09). Inside the Corbett Park wet well (June 09). More photos ...

Key documents

NPDC report on Messenger Tce 4: 10 March 2009 (20 pages 362KB PDF)
NPDC report on Messenger Tce 3: 9 December 2008 (Eight pages 101KB PDF)
NPDC report on Messenger Tce 2: 18 November 2008 (26 pages 105KB PDF)
NPDC report on Messenger Tce 1: 31 March 2008 (Four pages 33KB PDF)

NPDC Report: Budget update 11 April 2008 (Seven pages 36KB PDF)
Oakura trunk sewer and pump stations plan (One page 2MB PDF)

Domestic pump station information - Mono ECO 1 (Three pages 1.8MB PDF)
Domestic pump station information - EOne Ecoflow (Eight pages 1MB PDF)
Domestic pump station information - Wallace Pumps In-Ground 1000 (Two pages 110KB PDF)
Domestic pump station information - Wallace Pumps In-Ground 1500 (Two pages 110KB PDF)
Domestic pump station information - FASTFLO Hydropro (Four pages 395KB PDF)
Domestic pump station information - FASTFLO 1000 and 1500 (Two pages 1MB PDF)
Domestic pump station information - FASTFLO 1000 Specs (One page 120KB PDF)

Timeline

July 2004: Oakura sewerage project approved in Community Plan 2004-2014.

October 2004 - May 2005: Preliminary planning and design.

November/December 2004: 400m length of seafront sewer constructed along Messenger Tce, coinciding with the construction of a rock-filled protection wall.

July/August 2006: 300m of sewer laid in the town's CBD to allow for the refurbishment of the road and footpaths before summer 2006.

27 April 2007: Designation of sewer routes and sites for pump stations approved via a publicly notified process.

February 2008 - March 2009: Construction of sewer reticulation within Oakura township.

July 2008 - August 2009: Construction of central pump station at Shearer Reserve.

September 2009 - August 2010: Residents who elected to join the scheme must connect during this period.

The connection process

What is the process for connecting?
A formal application for sewer connection, including drainage plans, is required. This requires the detailed proposal for on-site plumbing to be provided by you or your plumber. Plans need to show drainage details including the septic tank/existing system, to be pumped out and disposed of as required. The application fee is $105. Only once the system has been commissioned will you be able to have your plumber complete drainage work and make the connection.

For more details on our requirements click here:

Oakura Sewerage Scheme Private Connections

Despite much of the pipework having passed testing, we cannot allow anyone to connect their private drainage into the lateral provided at their boundary as under the contract we must issue a certificate of practical completion before we can use the pipework. This will only be issued once all the pipework within a contract has passed testing.

Therefore at this stage a property owner can:

Apply for building consent.
Install any pipework needed within their property, i.e. lay a pipe from the location of their lateral to the location of their septic tank or gully trap

A property owner cannot:

Connect their drainage to the lateral at the boundary.
Connect the plumbing from their houses into the drainage (i.e. they cannot make it live).

The advantages of installing pipework within a property now include:

Taking advantage of better weather conditions at this time of the year making reinstatement easier(also work will be complete in time for the autumn growing season).
To ensure that they can procure a plumber to do this work as it is anticipated that there will be a high demand for plumbers once the scheme is commissioned.

There are disadvantages which include:

Installing pipework now will require the plumber to re-excavate the lateral to make the connection at a later date resulting is potentially additional cost for this additional excavation
There will be further disruption as the plumber returns to make the connection.

Each property will be different and property owners should discuss the advantages and disadvantages with their plumber before making a decision.

A letter will be sent to each property owner who has elected to join the scheme notifying them when they can connect to their lateral. Another letter will be sent later in the year following commissioning of the scheme notifying you that you can make your connection live and decommission your septic tank.

What will happen to my septic tank?
When properties connect to the new system, septic tanks and other treatment systems will need to be decommissioned and made safe in accordance with our requirements (Policy P96-012 “… require the system to be opened up and emptied where appropriate and then filled with sand or other similar inert material or generally made safe from collapse or otherwise by an approved method”).

When can I install drainage on my property?
We are very close to completion of the reticulation inside Oakura township and property owners are now considering the installation of their private drainage. There is some confusion about the work that a property owner is permitted to do at this stage.

Where will my lateral (pipe connection) be and how will this be marked?
The exact location of laterals has been marked on-site with a pink or white peg. Contact us for the approximate depth to the lateral.
Please note: The lateral has been installed at the point as close as practical, but on the road reserve side, of your property boundary.

How long do I have until I have to connect to the scheme?
The sewerage system is expected to be commissioned in mid-2009. (We cannot accept any responsibility should this commissioning be delayed.) Owners will have 12 months from the date of commissioning to make their connection.