Taipā Wastewater Transformation Project
Project details
Taipā’s treated wastewater is currently discharged to a tributary of the Parapara Stream. Together with the Taipā Working Group, the council is actively considering an alternative option of discharging treated wastewater to land.
Areas of land have been identified that may be suitable for the treated wastewater. These areas have the soil, slope and land-use types that might be suitable for receiving treated wastewater. Further site investigations are required to confirm the suitability of these areas. The next step is to contact landowners to find out if they are interested in allowing site suitability investigations on their land.
Through the Taipā Working Group, the council is also seeking guidance from mana whenua on discharge to land and site suitability.
Design and costs for appropriate infrastructure will be prepared if suitable land is found. The Taipā Working Group will then make a recommendation as to whether or not discharging the treated wastewater to land is the best practical option, or if a continued discharge to surface water should be maintained.
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Discharge to land survey
Questions and answers
- It is culturally unacceptable for treated wastewater to be discharged to water. In te ao Māori human waste is considered harmful, tapu, and needs to be kept separate from where people cook, eat, harvest food, talk and sleep. Wai (water) is a place for gathering kai and is a taonga with a mauri. The mauri of wai is degraded when wastewater is discharged to it.
The council is statutorily required to investigate options for discharging wastewater to land, conditions of the resource consent order set out this requirement.
- Discharging wastewater to land will reduce contamination of a freshwater body, and if treated wastewater is used to irrigate land this can result in reduced demand (for irrigation) on our freshwater sources.
- Discharging treated wastewater to land encourages further treatment through contact with soils and also allows vegetation to uptake nutrients
- Discharging to land stops contaminants entering waterways
- Taking treated wastewater out of waterways helps to restore the mauri of the awa
- Treated wastewater can be re-used for irrigation purposes, which in turn reduces demand on other freshwater sources.
Project documents
Contact details
Location
46 Oruru Road, Taipa 0483 View Map