A blessing was held to acknowledge the site and bestow spiritual safety on the upgrades we are undertaking at the Wellsford Wastewater Treatment Plant, starting this week.

Our team is working at pace to get a new state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant up and running in Wellsford before the end of 2026.

The $38.3m upgraded facility will vastly improve the quality of the treated wastewater, meet incoming stricter resource consent requirements, population growth demands and better cope with peak flows in wet weather.

Operations controller Daniel Leighton says part of the upgrade involves installing membrane-aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) and membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology.

"These new technologies use microorganisms to improve the nitrogen removal process, resulting in cleaner water being discharged into the Te Awa o Hōteo/ Hōteo River and the surrounding environment.

“Watercare will install MABR and MBR technology at the treatment plant to meet the stringent new consent requirements set out by Auckland Council.

The technologies are very efficient in removing organic matter and nutrients from wastewater. This is largely thanks to microorganisms (bugs) which work on our behalf; we just create the right conditions for them.”

Leighton says any pathogen that does make it through the membranes then has to face ultraviolet disinfection, which kills the vast majority.

“This results in a much higher quality wastewater being discharged to the environment than what the existing plant can achieve.

“MABR is relatively new technology for the treatment of wastewater. We installed the country’s first MABR in Helensville last year and its performance has continued to exceed expectations.”

Capital delivery general manager Suzanne Lucas says the upgrade will be built using modular design and principles, where each part will be built separately and joined together at the wastewater treatment plant.

“Opting for a modular design allows us to incorporate existing infrastructure into the new build, reducing construction time and carbon emissions.

“It also provides greater flexibility to scale up and update technology to meet future needs and accommodate population growth.

“While the upgrade is underway, traffic management will be in place approximately 300-metres on either side, and a temporary speed limit of 50km/h will be in place due to the high number of trucks and vehicles that will be coming in and out of the site.”