Annual Report 2011 - Watercare
Annual Report 2011 - Watercare
Annual Report 2011 - Watercare
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<strong>Watercare</strong> Services Limited<br />
<strong>2011</strong> ANNUAL REPORT<br />
<strong>Watercare</strong><br />
at work<br />
Delivering a cleaner Hobson Bay<br />
<strong>Watercare</strong> successfully completed Project Hobson in<br />
March <strong>2011</strong>, after nearly four years of construction work.<br />
Chief Infrastructure Officer Graham Wood says the project<br />
was about two things: providing for population growth and<br />
improving the local environment.<br />
“What we had was an ageing sewer pipe that crossed Hobson<br />
Bay and connected to a small pump station,” he says.<br />
“One of our concerns was that the sewer pipe would overflow<br />
during heavy rainfall when volumes would increase four-fold.<br />
Our solution was to replace the sewer pipe with a threekilometre-long<br />
wastewater tunnel that would connect to<br />
a high-capacity pump station in the Orakei Domain.”<br />
Work began in June 2007, when <strong>Watercare</strong> established<br />
construction sites in Orakei Domain and Remuera. The Orakei<br />
site was where two activities took place: it was the hub for the<br />
tunnelling operation and the place where the pump station<br />
was built. The Remuera site provided access, via a temporary<br />
road, to shorelines in Parnell and Remuera, where shafts were<br />
excavated to connect the tunnel to the existing wastewater<br />
network. The park was also the base from which the sewer pipe<br />
was demolished.<br />
A view of the wastewater tunnel during construction.<br />
Now commissioned, it transports over 3,000 litres per second<br />
during heavy rainfall.<br />
“The tunnelling operation was launched in April 2008 and<br />
progressed at a rate of around 120 metres a week for seven<br />
months. By the time it arrived in Parnell, over 100,000 tonnes<br />
of earth had been removed.”<br />
One of the major features of the new tunnel and pump station<br />
is their combined storage capacity. This means the flow to the<br />
Mangere Wastewater Treatment Plant can be regulated<br />
during heavy rain, reducing wet-weather overflows.<br />
For the people of Auckland, the most significant part of the<br />
project commenced in June 2010, when contractors began<br />
demolishing the sewer pipe that had crossed Hobson Bay for<br />
nearly 100 years. Within a few months, all signs of the pipe were<br />
gone and the construction sites were reinstated to parklands.<br />
“The tunnelling machine progressed at a rate<br />
of around 120 metres a week for seven months.<br />
By the time it arrived in Parnell, over 100,000<br />
tonnes of earth had been removed.”<br />
Healthy waterways<br />
PAGE 29<br />
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