Overflow dam over-full again

The recent extreme storm events have again forced Watercare to discharge partially treated wastewater from its Omaha treatment plant to prevent the storage dam from bursting its banks.

A Watercare spokesperson said the exceptional volumes coming into the plant off Jones Road since the January 27 floods and Cyclone Gabrielle left staff with no other option.

“Because of these high inflows, we had to use the temporary bypass first installed in July last year to manage the volumes that needed to be discharged,” he said. “This was our only option at the time to help protect the structural integrity of the site’s storage dam.”

Watercare first had to bypass the Omaha storage dam last July after exceptionally heavy winter rains, pumping posttreatment pond water into the stormwater system, which empties into the Whangateau Harbour. Staff said at the time that the water quality was sampled regularly and bacteria levels had been lower downstream from the discharge area than upstream from it.

Watercare said last week that the Omaha treatment plant had not suffered any significant damage from the recent weather events, and neither had any of its infrastructure projects in Warkworth and Snells Beach.

“The Snells Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant – currently undergoing a $128 million upgrade that will cater for growth in Auckland’s north and improve the water quality in the Mahurangi River – received some minor damage to an access road during the January flood,” he said. “Site works were not affected and the access road was repaired within a few days. Cyclone Gabrielle caused only minor damage to one of the treatment plant’s pipes, and there was no significant damage at our pump station construction site at Lucy Moore Memorial Park, or to our Warkworth to Snells Beach Wastewater Transfer Pipeline project.”

Marja Lube ck

Labour List MP based in Kaipara ki Mahurangi

For appointments and assistance please phone: 0800 582 325 (0800 LUBECK) marja lubeck@parliament govt nz

5/62- 6 4 Q ueen Street , Wark wor th

During the closure, there will be a detour around Warkworth (via Woodcocks or Hudson Roads, Carran Road, and Kaipara Flats Road). The detour will add up to 10 minutes travel time for road users, so we advise planning ahead for travel over this time. People travelling south, will be diverted via Kaipara Flats Road, Carran Road and Woodcocks Roads.

Over Dimension vehicles will be escorted through the site via our traffic management team by prior arrangement. Heavy vehicles are advised to take State Highway 16.

The night works at the Southern Connection of the project are still progressing following the recent weather events. However, works were postponed due to the cyclone and because of this we have had to extend these works for a further week.

The full SH1 closures between Silverdale to Johnstones Hill Tunnels (JHT) will continue for the following dates. While the closure is in place, traffic will detour along Hibiscus Coast Highway (HCH). A stop/go operation will be in place on HCH to manage traffic safely, from 9pm to 5am.

• Sunday 12 to Thursday 16 March

• Sunday 19 to Thursday 23 March

The works at both ends of the project are very weather dependant, so timings may change at short notice. If you want to keep up to date, you can follow the projects Facebook page @aratuhonopuhoitowarkworth, website: nx2group.com or check out the Waka Kotahi Journey Planner https://www.journeys.nzta.govt. nz/traffic/ before you travel.

We appreciate your patience as we work to complete the new motorway. While this will no doubt impact travel, completion of these works takes us closer to opening the new motorway as soon as possible and we are all looking forward to enjoying a safer, more resilient and reliable road with more consistent travel times.

Robert Jones – Project Director

For more information, call the NX2 team on: 24/7 Freephone: 0508 P2WK INFO (0508 7295 4636) Email: info@nx2group.com

Facebook: Ara Tūhono – Pūhoi to Warkworth Web: nx2group.com