Bye-bye bricks in pump-station fix

The familiar brick exterior of the wastewater pump station at Seabreeze Rd near Lake Rd has been replaced with reinforced concrete as part of an earthquake-strengthening programme.

Watercare is spending $5 million to future-proof 15 critical assets around Auckland against earthquakes, including the Seabreeze Rd facility (pictured) , where contractors started work in April.

“Most of the work we’ve done at Seabreeze Rd has been replacing the external brick walls, which have a high safety risk, with steel-reinforced concrete,” said Watercare project manager Tom Lyne.

“The new external concrete walls have also been fixed to the internal brick walls using steel fasteners to improve the stability of the entire above-ground structure.”

The work provided greater resistance to earthquakes and other natural disasters, such as floods and fires, Lyne said

“We’ve also been improving the strength of the foundations by extending the footings and introducing new structural steel elements.”

Once the wall works were complete, the building’s exterior would be painted “a similar colour as before”, so the structure blended well with its surroundings.

The seismic works were on track to be finished this month. It is one of many projects Watercare is undertaking as part of a broader $18.5 billion programme to build, renew and upgrade water and wastewater infrastructure over the next 20 years.