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ISSN 1179-2949 (Print)
ISSN 2382-1906 (Online)
www.waternz.org.nz
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STORMWATER CONFERENCE
Workshop: After the floods
Pointers for partnership
FEATURES
Profile: Brian ‘Scruffy’ Smith
Profile: Dirk du Plessis
38 Enabling investment
44
Lake Wānaka mapped in detail
46 Bringing stormwater into play
52 Central Interceptor ready to flick the switch
56 Looking after the small things
60 Significantly reducing wastewater capex
64 Sharing water loss insights and innovations
66 Sorting water disputes
80 Creating strong systems for safe and equitable water, sanitation and hygiene
CASE STUDIES, PAPERS AND COMMENT PIECES
36 Freshwater modelling needs improvement
68 Legal update
70 Water recycling: What are we waiting for?
72 Keeping our heads (and infrastructure) above water
74
Embedding a sustainability approach to maximise project success
‘Ka ora te wai, ka ora te whenua, ka ora nga tangata’
‘If the water is healthy, the land is healthy, the people are healthy’
78 Water loss lessons from the field 30 38 52 56
Let’s all play our part in keeping the water pipeline flowing
Lorraine Kendrick President, Water New Zealand
With half a year behind us, we are now in the next phase of the Local Government Water Services Bill, the ‘Water Services Preliminary Arrangements’ section; a further step towards bringing the Local Water Done Well model into the sector.
One of Water New Zealand’s roles is to support the territorial authorities affected by the changes – councils and other unitary authorities – as they work their way through the legislation and start to develop their individual water service delivery plans.
Water New Zealand made submissions on the bill to the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee in June, and we will keep members updated on that ongoing process.
Although the legislation is particular to the territorial authorities, it pays to remember that it will have an impact on the wider sector too.
We need the other three-quarters of our members – the contractors, suppliers, consultants and academics – to be engaged in these conversations and thinking about how the changes might affect supply chains and efficiencies around standardisation and procurement. We all need to work on getting the pipeline going.
A further iteration of the bill is due in December, which will, among other policies, set out criteria for long-term finance sustainability.
The importance of establishing sustainable finance in the water sector was a big theme at our recent Stormwater Conference & Expo 2024. It’s a subject that is gaining momentum internationally as well as in Aotearoa New Zealand. You can read more about it on pages 14-27.
The Stormwater Conference & Expo 2024, held in Wellington, was another must-attend event for anyone with an interest in stormwater.
The exhibition centre was outstanding with a wide range of products and expertise on offer. The technical papers, posters, presentation, and range of workshops showcased the depth of talent that we have as stormwater management and expertise continues to evolve.
Many thanks are due to our Stormwater Group and its chair, Peter Christensen, for helping coordinate this major conference that attracted more than 550 attendees and 40 expo stands.
Now we are gearing up for the Water New Zealand Conference & Expo 2024.
It’s the biggest water event on the three waters calendar –connecting members with each other, and showcasing the latest
innovations and technology with a focus on long-term resilience, sustainability and other sector developments.
With that in mind, a pre-conference symposium will be held to discuss enabling the new Local Water Done Well policies, which will hopefully be more fully formed by then.
Don’t forget to visit the conference website, waternzconference.org.nz, to secure earlybird registrations.
The importance of navigating finance in the water sector was a subject that we also traversed in two of our most recent Tāwara o te Wai podcasts. Dinesh Kumareswaran, an economist who specialises in regulatory economics with a focus on infrastructure and water, spoke about the constraints facing the sector with co-hosts Jon Reed and Hannah Edmond.
Then, with the announcement that Watercare will be the first water service provider to become a new council-owned utility under the Local Water Done Well policy, Jon and Hannah were joined by Watercare CEO Dave Chambers and Water New Zealand CEO Gillian Blythe to discuss how the ownership model and service delivery could be adopted in other regions. You can listen to the two podcasts, and our earlier ones, by going to the Water New Zealand website waternz.org.nz/podcasts or on Spotify.
Meanwhile, our Water New Zealand staff are continuing their excellent work to not only encourage new people into the sector, but to cultivate mentorship among our experienced members and foster in-house learning.
Our technical lead on drinking water and education, Dr Belinda Cridge, has combined her love of science and education to spread the word on the amazing opportunities in our sector and tap into existing knowledge. The sweep of her mission is impressive – from primary school up to the ‘third age’.
The team has also been working on the new-look updated Water Directory. It’s an improved platform and a great resource for businesses to fi nd and connect with people, services and suppliers. If you haven’t yet seen it, I urge you to take a look at www.waterdirectory.org.nz.
Ka kite anō
Lorraine Kendrick President
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Control
Backflow
Prevention
Filtration
Air Valves
New wastewater measures to monitor and report on
Taumata Arowai is introducing new measures for wastewater networks that need to be monitored and reported on from 1 July 2024.
It says the new measures are largely the same as those in Water New Zealand’s National Performance Review. They include ‘static’ measures that do not require active monitoring. For example, “What is the receiving environment for treated wastewater (river, lake, marine, land, estuary, wetland)?”
They also include ‘continuous’ measures that may require operators to put monitoring systems or processes in place. For example, “How many kWh of electricity were used at the
wastewater treatment plant?”
The new measures are included in the Network Environmental Performance Measures and Guide 2024.
To help minimise the burden of additional reporting, Taumata Arowai says it is delaying the introduction of further wastewater measures and the third phase of drinking water measures. When and how to report on the new wastewater measures
Each year, operators will need to provide data by 30 September for the year ending 30 June. For this and next year, there are two reporting dates.
For the static measures, record data as at 1
July 2024 and report by 30 September 2024. For the continuous measures, record data from 1 July 2024 until 30 June 2025 and report by 30 September 2025.
From July, a reporting template will be available on the Taumata Arowai website. What happens to the information you provide?
First Local Water Done Well cab off the rank
In May, Watercare and Auckland Council reached agreement over creating a more financially sustainable model for the services provided by Watercare.
The deal means the council retains ownership and control of Watercare, but Watercare will now have the financial independence to access increased borrowing for investment in water services.
Watercare will retain responsibility for drinking water and wastewater, while stormwater will remain the responsibility of the Auckland Council, and a planned 25.8 percent increase in Aucklanders’ Watercare bills has been limited to 7.2 percent.
The agreement, announced on May 5, was the first move in the Government’s Local Water Done Well reforms – the replacement for the former Government's Affordable Waters policies.
Water New Zealand has welcomed the announcement, which CEO Gillian Blythe says would help meet the needs of Auckland’s water
infrastructure and ease pressure on ratepayers. She says the challenges have been about balancing local accountability with affordability.
“The next step is for councils throughout the country to work on their own versions of Local Water Done Well. They must aim for solutions that ensure they can address the water investment deficit and provide the financial sustainability necessary to deliver the best outcomes for their areas and the country as a whole.”
The Government has said it intends to provide more details on the broader range of structural and financing tools available to other councils to ensure they can finance themselves appropriately and access the long-term debt required for investment in water services infrastructure.
The new model for Watercare will require legislative changes through the Local Government Water Services (Preliminary Arrangements) Bill.
The bill also sets out requirements for territorial
authorities to submit water services delivery plans to explain what they propose to do to ensure delivery of water services will be financially sustainable by June 30, 2028. The plans must be submitted within 12 months of the bill being enacted, which is expected early August, 2024.
The bill allows territorial authorities to submit joint plans, which must cover drinking water, wastewater and stormwater, even if authorities decide to provide these services in different ways – for example, a council-controlled organisation for drinking water and wastewater and a council business unit for stormwater.
The bill makes provision for foundational information disclosure requirements, to be developed by the Commerce Commission.
Water New Zealand held a webinar on the bill on June 6, a recording of which is available on the website. Water New Zealand made a submission to the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee on June 13, a copy of which is also available on the Water New Zealand website.
Navigating finance in the water sector
A new podcast on financing has joined the Water New Zealand series Tāwara o te Wai, co-presented by Jon Reed and Hannah Edmond, discussing the highly relevant topic of affordability and what water asset owners need to do to support funding applications.
Jon and Hannah talk to economist Dinesh Kumareswaran of Frontier Economics. Dinesh is based in Melbourne and specialises in regulatory economics with a particular focus on infrastructure and water.
They discuss the water infrastructure deficit and financial constraints faced by the New Zealand water sector. Estimates are that over the next 30 years, investment of between $120 billion and $185 billion will be needed.
They examine key elements of the Government’s Local Water Done Well strategy, the so-called “balance sheet separation” as seen in the recent Watercare/Auckland Council agreement and consider where the money needed might come from.
It will be analysed and summarised to be included in the annual Network Environmental Performance Report published in 2025. Some of this information will also appear in the Public Register of Wastewater Networks. To
Find it in the Water Directory
The latest iteration of the Water New Zealand Water Directory is an updated website with improved search tools and resources. The directory exists to make it faster and easier to identify suppliers. While you can search using Google, you’ll identify more relevant companies faster by going to the Water Directory first.
Not only is it a one-stop shop for the water community, with a comprehensive database of products, services, suppliers and expertise, but you can also take part in
forums and have your say on issues relevant to the sector.
The Water Directory has served the industry for 30 years (previously as The NZ Infrastructure, Water and Environment Directory and as a hard-copy publication) and the new website builds on that solid reputation, providing an enhanced user experience.
By logging in as a user, you can save the suppliers you want to view again and share your search results with a colleague.
If your business serves the wider water sector, make sure you’re being noticed with a listing in the Water Directory. Previously, you could provide company, brand, product and services information. Now, you can also highlight case studies, blogs, feature products and link to videos offering relevant information to the water community.
For more information on the Water Directory, contact Debbie Laing, debbie. laing@waternz.org.nz. To view the water directory, go to waterdirectory.org.nz/
Reservoir maintenance and security guidelines released
Treated water reservoirs are an integral part of any distribution network. As well as storing drinking water, they aid continuity of supply, provide a buffer in case of power failure or issues at the water treatment plant and, by having a stored volume of water, enable the reticulation pipework to stay pressurised.
Unlike a piped network, a reservoir has no pressure, reducing the risk of contaminant ingress. As there is little opportunity to treat the water in a network (other than a chlorine residual), good design and preventative maintenance are essential.
Their operation and maintenance are important components of water safety.
Global insights shared
Water industry leaders from five countries, including Water New Zealand CEO Gillian Blythe, took part in a Water Services Association of Australia panel discussion during the Ozwater conference in Melbourne in May. The theme was international collaboration and opportunities, with the speakers sharing perspectives from their respective countries with the audience. That ranged from hosting the Olympics in Paris and infrastructure resilience in the United States to wastewater pollution and trust issues in Britain and the challenges of making reform happen in New Zealand.
To support owners and operators of water supply reservoirs, Water New Zealand has produced a new set of good practice guidelines.
Focused on closed potable water reservoirs (not raw water lakes and dams), the guide describes best practice for maintenance, inspection and management to reduce the risk of contamination.
The guide was initiated and funded by the Water Service Managers Group. It was written by Water New Zealand’s former technical manager, Noel Roberts, a previous water operator with decades of experience managing water networks.
Subject matter review and input was provided by Kalley Simpson, Waimakariri District Council; Mark Hall, New Plymouth District Council; Jayesh Solanki, Auckland Council; EJ Wentzel, Western Bay of Plenty District Council; Philip Kelsen, Napier City Council; and Gill Bullock, Stantec.
Many thanks to contributors. The guide also draws on information in the Christchurch City Council reservoir construction design standard. As with all Water New Zealand guides, it is free for members or available for purchase by non-members. The guide can now be accessed from the Water New Zealand technical library: www.waternz.org.nz/resourcehub.
From left: Water UK CEO David Henderson, AECOM (California) global water business executive vice-president Beverley Stinson, Water New Zealand CEO Gillian Blythe, Melbourne Water MD Nerina DiLorenzo, Eau de Paris GM Benjamin Gestin.
Modellers meet Fledgling rōpū spreads its wings
The Water New Zealand Modelling Group held their annual meeting on the 23 May 2024. The Modelling Group’s mission is to promote and support industry best practice in water modelling through education, events, and guidelines.
The evolution of Water New Zealand’sTe Mana o te Wai subgroup, formed in 2022, has taken another step forward with its newly created status as a special interest group (SIG).
Group chair Wioletta Gilfoyle thanked the committee for their dedication and support. Fiona Macdonald, Cheryl Bai, and Rene van Lierop resigned their committee portfolios, and the group welcomed six new committee members. The committee now comprises: Wioletta Gilfoyle (chair), Hamilton; Peter Kinley (vice chair), Waikato; Alistair Osborne and Ali Paine, Wellington; Joe Xie, Hastings; Dave Ripley and Alice Harang, Christchurch; and Paul Haddon, Mike Dunstone, Elliot Egan, Kirsten Henden, Ajay Desai, Graham Morallee, and Juan Alvarez De Lugo from Auckland.
Wioletta re-capped the busy year the group has had, which included multiple regional events, including technical presentations, site visits, and a pub quiz. These events also went towards strengthening relationships with other Special Interest Groups.
The ever increasing-in-popularity Modelling Symposium 2024, in Otautahi Christchurch attracted a record 95 delegates. The group issued a modelling newsletter and continued providing support in development of the Stormwater Modelling Guidelines.
All this work demonstrates the successful delivery of their mission and objectives – knowledge sharing, education, and plenty of networking opportunities.
The group’s focus for the coming year is to continue providing opportunities to the industry to learn and share knowledge. The Water New Zealand Wastewater Modelling Guidelines will be reviewed and the relationships with other special interest groups continue to be strengthened.
The Water New Zealand board approved the change in June, noting clear alignment with the transformation strategy vision, centring the concept ofTe Mana o te Wai at the heart of the water sector.
Over the past two years, the rōpū (group) has been running workshops at consecutive conferences, publishing case studies and articles in Water, and supporting training and advocacy.
Their next step is to hold wāhanga to decide on a name. This will involve establishing a name and process that’s grounded in tikanga (practice and procedure), that whakamana Te Ao Māori (empowers the Māori World), the rōpū’s kaupapa (purpose) and the correct reo (expression).
The group recruited five more members to the rōpū. They now have a good spread across the motu and represent a range of disciplines and interests to improve the sector’s capability in partnering with mana whenua.
Their work plan is woven into the transformation strategy pou which recognises and treats water as a taonga, and includes:
• Giving effect toTe Mana o te Wai across the water services industry;
• Increasing awareness of the principles ofTe Mana o te Wai;
• Advocacy for the partnership of mana whenua with industry; and
• Advocating for the role of mātauranga in three waters management.
More details, including the work programme, can be found at waternz.org.nz/specialinterestgroups. Members who are interested in becoming involved, can log into their waternz.org.nz dashboard and tick theTe Mana o te Wai box.
Preparations for 2025 Modelling Symposium in Kirikiriroa Hamilton are already underway for the week of 17 March 2025. A call for abstracts will go out in September.
The SIG members are: Sarah Nolan (co-chair), Stephanie Dijkstra (co-chair), James Armitage, Vicky Otene, Peter Christensen, Harley O’Hagan, Charles Ropitini, Gavin Sole, Dave Neru, Emily Afoa, Mereana Taungapeau, with support from Water New Zealand’s Nicci Wood.
A step in the right direction
Water New Zealand CEO Gillian Blythe will be putting her best foot forward as part of the global Walk for Water campaign that helps raise awareness about how many people around the world are forced to walk more than half an hour each day to access water.
Gillian will be sharing links to support her Water New Zealand fundraising efforts. Anyone can sign up for the global event, which takes place from September 30 to October 4, and you don’t need to be
athletic. See the Walk for Water website for details at fundraise.wateraid.org.au/event/ walkforwater-2024/home
The WaterAid charity supports Walk for Water in Australia and New Zealand. It poses the question: How far would you walk for a glass of clean water? WaterAid says 703 million people in the world – almost one in 10 – do not have clean water close to home.
“Every day, women and children walk long distances to collect and carry water for their
families. Girls and boys often begin collecting water as children and girls continue to collect and carry water throughout their lives.”
It is urging people to especially consider the plight of the women and girls who are missing out on school and work having to walk five kilometres or more for water each day.
Last year, as a result of its advocacy, policy work and community involvement, WaterAid helped more than 1.6 million people access clean water at their healthcare facility.
A cause for celebration
Our Land and Water held its final environmental symposium in May, celebrating the conclusion of 10 years as part of the National Science Challenge. Water New Zealand staff member Zoe Hubbard attended as part of Pūhoro STEMM Academy, which encourages young people into the STEM economy. Here is her report:
The event began with a Māori researchers' wānanga, generating important kōrero for those in environmental work. It highlighted the urgent need for more education and awareness about the history of the lands being worked on, given the often painful
histories associated with natural resources for hapū and iwi.
I was prompted to be mindful about mātauranga Māori and to consider carefully why it is being acquired and how it will be used to keep its integrity.
Another key point was that the input of rangatahi was invaluable for their new ideas and perspectives. Workforces must be open and supportive in mentoring and guiding them.
Throughout the symposium, Tina Porou, founder of environmental consultancy Poipoia, had great assertions – emphasising that Te
Tiriti o Waitangi is for all New Zealanders as is Te Mana o te Wai.
We cannot disregard and ignore the principles of these, the consequences will affect all of our mokopuna.
Furthermore, water has its own right to exist without humans. This was refreshing to talk about, as water is often referred to as a product. We must remember, “ko au te awa, ko te awa ko au – I am the river, the river is me”.
The event encouraged celebration of the meaningful and important work being done by Our Land and Water and a multitude of talented people and organisations.
Rivers Group 2024 conference
Manatiaki Kōawa, the New Zealand Rivers Group, is holding its conference on November 6-8, in Ahuriri, Napier.
This year’s theme is Ka Mua, Ka Muri –Walking Backwards into the Future.
Attendees will reflect on the past to
consider how best to navigate an uncertain future. They will get out alongside the awa to learn from tangata whenua and others about the past before moving inside to consider kōrero on the future.
The group wants to share your stories,
thoughts, experiences and learnings in a longer open session and a series of ‘lightning’ talks to accompany posters. Registration and information on abstracts will be available on the website: riversgroup.org.nz/
Timely test for emergency readiness
Water New Zealand technical adviser (regulatory) Nicci Wood reports on the water sector’s role in the emergency preparedness of the country’s lifeline utilities and critical infrastructures.
As this issue of Water went to print, Water New Zealand was taking part in Exercise Rū Whenua 2024, led by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
Over three dates (June 12, June 26, and July 10), the exercise aimed to test the country’s arrangements for responding to and recovering from a magnitude 8 Alpine Fault earthquake.
Although based on an earthquake scenario, it was also an opportunity to test some of the lessons identified following the response to the January and February 2023 North Island severe weather events.
This has been timely, with experiences such as the Havelock North water contamination incident, the 2023 extreme wet weather events, and the structural three waters reforms having highlighted the water sector’s relative emergency management immaturity.
Unlike other utility sectors, water has no national infrastructure or network, no single overarching legislation, minister, or agency. Instead, water and its emergency management are localised, buried within councils.
The response to Cyclone Gabrielle exposed weaknesses in the water sector’s national and local coordination, involvement, inclusion, systems, leadership, and relationships. Other lifeline sectors and Sector Coordinating Entities (SCEs) have clearly understood and identified roles, responsibilities, and reporting lines, at all levels, locally and nationally through the SCE. They are quick to communicate damage encountered, services disrupted, resources needed, and estimate costs and timeframes to restore services for roads, energy, and telecommunications.
In these events, as with previous emergency events – earthquakes and flooding – multiple water staff and equipment from across the county are mobilised to affected areas to assist in response and recovery. This is not mandated in legislation or formalised in an SCE agreement or MOU, but it demonstrates the ability, understanding and camaraderie that underlies and drives the water sector to respond in a collaborative way.
There is need and opportunity to increase the maturity of the water sector across four Rs of emergency management (reduction, readiness, response and recovery). If you would like to be involved, email Nicci, Nicci.Wood@waternz.org.nz.
The Water Sector Coordinating Entity
Water is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s four Lifeline Utilities Sectors under the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002. Water New Zealand previously represented the water sector on the National Lifelines Council until Sector Coordinating Entities (SCEs) were introduced in the National Civil Defence Emergency Management Plan 2015. This is secondary legislation that sets out the roles and responsibilities of Lifeline Utilities in reducing risks and preparing for, responding to and recovering from emergencies. SCEs have been established to provide national scale emergency management planning and coordination.
The water SCE represents:
• An entity that supplies or distributes water to the inhabitants of a city, district, or other place;
• An entity that provides a wastewater or stormwater network or that disposes of sewage or stormwater.
There has been an informal arrangement with NEMA since 2017 for Water New Zealand to operate as the water SCE. The Water SCE was first activated during the Gabrielle Response.
The Water SCE is resourced on an as-required basis and comprises:
• Water New Zealand (chair);
• Representatives from the Water Services Managers Group;
• Taumata Arowai (manager response and resilience);
• The National Lifeline Utility Coordinator (NEMA).
Our new-look technical team
Recognising the breadth of technical expertise that sits within existing staff, Water New Zealand has combined its policy, advocacy and project staff into one team. The changes will strengthen planning and cross-pollination across the technical work programme. Technical advice is one of Water New Zealand’s core services. While we can’t hold all the technical expertise needed for water management in-house, we do have access to the collective knowledge of our members, which means our technical team is almost certain to know where to find someone who can help. If you’re looking for techncial advice or there are areas of water management you think should get more attention, reach out to one of the team – we would love to hear from you.
Dr Belinda Cridge, technical lead –drinking water quality and education Belinda holds a doctorate in toxicology – “the science of poisons”. Her career has spanned a range of roles in education. As well as academic postings, she has worked for interactive science centres, careers services, equity programmes and on developing school resources.
Before joining Water New Zealand, Belinda was working at ESR under the mentorship of Chris Nokes and Jan Gregor, who instilled in her their passion for drinking water and public health protection.
She now looks after the recently-established Drinking Water Quality special interest group and holds the Water New Zealand education and training portfolio. This includes a range of education and outreach activities such as supporting water education in schools, career pathways into the sector, managing the mentoring programme and maintenance and development of digital learning modules.
Lesley Smith, technical lead –projects and sustainability
Lesley began her career as a controls system engineer working on building controls. Her transition to water came through working on a joint water and energy efficiency programme for an Australian water utility that was grappling with the millennium drought. Since then, her career has traversed climate, water and energy issues.
Since joining Water New Zealand, Lesley has been responsible for the maintenance and development of its guides and technical resources, delivery of technical projects and has previously managed and produced the National Performance Review.
She also leads sustainability initiatives that include Water New Zealand greenhouse gas accounting and other ways to minimise the organisation’s environmental impact.
Lesley provides support to the Water Efficiency Conservation Action Network, Smart Water Infrastructure, Climate Change and Backflow special interest groups.
Nicci Wood, technical lead –regulatory and catchments
An earth scientist by training and a respected stormwater practitioner, Nicci has more than 20 years’ experience providing technical advice on public infrastructure-related planning, strategy and policy.
She has been heavily involved in government reforms, including Three Waters and resource management, advocating for the sector and advising governance groups and decision-makers on legislation and regulation, and appearing at select committees.
Nicci supports the operations, plans and deliverables of the Water Services Managers Group and the Stormwater, Modelling and Climate Change special interest groups, as well as representing Water New Zealand on the Rivers Group.
She is a member of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s Critical Infrastructure Industry Reference Group. Experienced in civil defence and emergency management, Nicci represents the three waters sector on the National Lifelines Council and is the chair of the National Emergency Management Agency’s water sector coordinating entity.
Inside the training pipeline
Belinda Cridge, Water New Zealand’s technical lead on drinking water and education, elaborates on the work being done to encourage new people into the sector and how the skills and knowledge of existing workers are being developed. She’s also on a crusade for new training ideas.
Water New Zealand spreads its training work across multiple audiences, from schools to school leavers to those working in the field, and even to those about to leave who want to give back. These are our strategies for the different groups.
Raising awareness: For primary and secondary school pupils, we focus on water literacy, including water conservation messages and promoting pathways into a great job. We run our own events, such as the youth-focused Ripple Effect session at this year’s Stormwater Conference, and work with partners such as House of Science, Engineering New Zealand Wonder Project, Inspiring the Future, Tahatū (the new tertiary careers website), and the Mātauranga Science Fair team.
Joining the sector: This covers our apprentices, Connexis students, university students, graduates and new recruits, helping them navigate into the sector. Most of this work is in collaboration with Connexis, universities, Waihanga Ara Rau and TEC. I sit on various committees to find out what’s working and what we might need to do in the future. We attend university careers fairs and this year we are supporting the National PhD Symposium on the 24 June. Digital badges: Our popular digital badges, which provide support to those who are new to the sector, have just had a major update. They still contain the same great content provided by our knowledgable and experienced members, but are more interactive and easier to navigate. When members complete a digital badge, it is noted on their membership records and can be used to support accreditation or job applications. Established members: To help this group continue to grow and develop, our conferences provide valuable knowledge-sharing and networking opportunities. This year, we’re in Kirikiriroa Hamilton, 25-27 September (registrations are open now).
S pecial interest groups and committees: These are aligned with conference sessions, webinars, regional events and codes of practice. Cultural Significance and importance of Wai: Led by our kaiako, Troy Brockbank, this course covers history, tikanga and wai, along with korero about how to work well with all communities.
Leading: If you’ve been around for a while, learning is still important, but so is giving back.
Mentoring Programme: If you’re interested, there’s training available and you can decide how many people you might want to mentor.
Australian Water School: I’m looking forward to making use of our member discount with the Australian Water School, which will be running courses through our external training website page. All Water NZ members will receive 10 percent off any Australian Water School course. What’s happening internally? We are lucky to have Zoe Hubbard (Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri), our accounts administrator, who has been leading us through cultural training sessions. We’re discovering te reo Māori, tikanga and history in a way that works for us and meets our needs.
According to international recommendations, training should make up one to three percent of payroll spend, so, for the coming financial year, Water New Zealand is aiming for a two percent target.
We are always looking for passionate people with good training ideas so we can offer new courses. We’ve laid the groundwork with a new learning platform, we’ve revamped the training website and now it’s time to grow. If you have ideas or a passion, email training@ waternz.org.nz or fill in the survey at surveymonkey.com/r/GG86VPT.
Science kits for kids
Water New Zealand, Te Uru Kahika, and the Rivers Group have joined forces to sponsor science kits with the House of Science. The resource kits are provided to schools around the country to promote hands-on learning for primary-aged tamariki.
Collectively, we have sponsored a kit called “Wonderful Wai”, with five activities that explore water as a solid, liquid and gas and the allocated uses of freshwater.
There are 16 kits available and they have been booked solid, meaning more than 200
schools have used the kits. As each kit is used by multiple classes, we have already reached more than 17,000 learners across the country.
House of Science recently engaged ImpactLab to quantify its social impact. The results were astounding. For every $37 invested (average cost per participant) the social value was $397, which means the measurable benefit as a proportion of programme cost is an amazing 1020 percent.
The full report is available on the House of Science website.
Claudelands, Kirikiriroa Hamilton
Don’t miss the biggest water event in Aotearoa New Zealand –registrations and programme are now live!
Find out the latest thinking on innovation and technology, resilience, sustainability, Te Ao Māori and much more. Take part in discussions, workshops and make new contacts and business opportunities while helping shape the future of the water sector in Aotearoa New Zealand.
If your interest is water, don’t miss this important conference.
Preconference Symposium: Enabling local water to be done well Tuesday, 24 September
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Embracing change, and a new venue
By Gillian Blythe, Water New Zealand chief executive
Thank you to all those who helped make this year’s Stormwater Conference & Expo in May such an outstanding event.
Feedback from delegates and other attendees was overwhelmingly positive and the teams at Water New Zealand and Avenues Event Management were also delighted with how smoothly the three-day event and one-day pre-conference ran.
The conference was held in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, thanks to the availability of the state-of-the-art Tākina Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Having more than 550 attendees and 40 expo stands contributed to a lively atmosphere and the kōrero flowed as members discussed some of the industry’s most pressing issues – infrastructure, flooding, sustainable urban water management and financial investment. Many also attended a special premiere screening of the documentary Our Blue World, A Water Odyssey,
Tapping into the past
The magical power of water and the origin stories of indigenous communities are captured in the documentary Our Blue World, A Water Odyssey, which had its Aotearoa New Zealand premiere at the Stormwater Conference.
The film, made by the Brave Blue World Foundation and narrated by actor Liam Neeson, takes a global and historical view of how water connects and sustains humanity and nature.
As that connection unravels around us, with sometimes devastating consequences, this film looks to the past and the ways our ancestors managed our most precious resource.
A recurring and resonant mantra is “water always wins”. It’s a good starting point for considering how to live more harmoniously with it.
The filmmakers travelled to five continents to find out how wisdom from the past might merge with modern science and technology to create a better future.
It’s inspiring stuff and was the perfect start to this year’s Stormwater Conference & Expo, especially because our own Whanganui River has a large cameo due to its special personhood status enshrined in law in 2017. It dramatically highlights the role the awa plays in the lives of local iwi, some of whom attended the screening.
From restoring the bogs of Ireland and the mountain canals of Peru, the hydrological city of Ankor Wat and the stilt homes of Vietnam to the sponge cities of China, the filmmakers discover how old ideas are being revived and with astonishing success.
Clever new innovations also have a role – for example, in the African country Burundi where, thanks to the vision and expertise
which features water innovations across five continents, and includes Aotearoa New Zealand. It was the ideal introduction to a conference focused on embracing new ideas to help build a sustainable future for water.
Significant achievements in the sector were recognised with a host of awards presented at the Stantec dinner (to find out who got what see pages 24 and 25).
Delegates also got to see innovation in action with site visits to a Wellington wetland, flood protection work, river restoration, and an urban stream project.
The depth and breadth of this year’s conference was a tribute to the hard work of many, including the exhibitors, and the support of our valued partners and sponsors – Stormwater 360, Dutton Stormwater, Tonkin + Taylor, PrimePump, Intergroup, Stantec, Tuflow, Mott MacDonald, Beca, and Aurecon.
of a young African hydrologist Synthia Douchime, a simple borehole drilling solution, enabling solar-powered pumps to tap into safe groundwater, is now providing more Burundians with clean water.
Are people starting to “listen to water again”, as the producers hope they will? This film is a good start.
A key voice in the documentary is that of its executive producer, Irish engineer Paul O’Callaghan, the founder and CEO of BlueTech Research and the driving force behind the Brave Blue World Foundation.
Dr O’Callaghan spoke, via video, to conference delegates the day after the screening and elaborated on some aspects of the film, including the participation of the Whanganui whanau. He said he admired how the Māori concepts of Te Mana o te Wai and the story of Papatūānuku (Earth Mother) and Ranginui (Sky Father), showing the connection between the land and the sky, were kept alive in the language and embraced by current generations.
For more information visit: www.braveblue/ourblueworld
Breaking down silos to address funding gaps
A panel of sustainable finance and water infrastructure experts discussed potential solutions to enable investment in the sector. The hui at the 2024 Stormwater Conference was facilitated by Brad Tiller, a senior water resources consultant with Tonkin + Taylor, who set the scene by saying “we all know that stormwater is undervalued”.
“On top of that, as practitioners we are almost always at the mercy of the financial system. Credit ratings, balance sheet separation, economies of scale, liquidity and debt are the real drivers that we need to understand.”
In an age of austerity, the pace of new infrastructure was “almost glacial”, he said, with councils operating well beyond their debt ceilings, “and what we do build, we can’t generate the revenue from”. The deficits had come home to roost.
However, he said, amid the disruption, there were opportunities for innovation, including widening the pool of available capital – for example, the sovereign wealth from our KiwiSaver and the Super Fund. Borrowing against that, he said, was the fastest and cheapest way to solve the infrastructure financing crisis.
There were non-public international investors and iwi willing to invest in low-risk, long-term and stable infrastructure projects, he said, but it seemed the political will to encourage it was lacking.
Sam Stubbs, managing director of KiwiSaver fund Simplicity, who has been reported as saying he would like to invest “billions” into fixing Wellington’s leaky pipes, said the main barrier to doing that, even though the money was available, was the lack of a mechanism for such investment.
Helmut Modlik, CEO of Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira, said that if the imperatives were great enough, money could be found. “Have we priced the cost of inaction,” he wondered.
Wellington Water CEO Tonia Haskell knows about working within constrained funding models. She said it meant having to prioritise, firstly, safe and sufficient drinking water and, secondly, environmental outcomes. What dropped off the list, she said, was growth, resilience and infrastructure and climate change.
David Hall, climate policy director at the Toha Network, said the barriers to unlocking finance from capital and debt markets were around risks, return and scale. For grey infrastructure projects, the revenue flows were well known, but were unclear with novel green infrastructure projects, which were not so well understood yet.
“Scale is crucial for a relatively small economy such as New Zealand’s. For big issuances, you need a couple of hundred million dollars, or more, so the finance justifies the transaction costs of making that investment, especially if we are talking about innovative finance mechanisms.”
A good example of financial innovation in the stormwater space was an environmental impact bond (EIB) – a new way to finance green infrastructure – which had been successfully used in Washington DC to tackle stormwater run-off that was polluting the Chesapeake Bay.
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation and partners introduced the EIB pay-for-success model to finance the replacement of traditional pipes and tunnels with rain gardens, bioswales, tree plantings, porous pavements, green roofs and stream restoration.
Measurable goals are set for each project. If they are met, municipalities pay investors the bond’s set rate of return; if the
project underperforms, the municipalities get a risk share payment from the investor, meaning it then has funding to try something else. If a project exceeds its goals, both parties win – the municipality saves money and the investors receive a higher rate of return.
Though local authorities might be nervous about the performance of untried green infrastructure, sharing the risk with an investor was a way to encourage them to produce these practices on the ground.
In terms of revenue-raising options, the panel welcomed concepts such as council MOUs, balance sheet separation, financial incentives and disincentives, and water metering.
Brad posed the question, if there was funding to build a flood protection scheme, for example, who should pay in terms of the returns? Would it be homeowners, because their home’s value is retained? Or banks, because value they have in a property is retained? Or insurers, because they will no longer have to pay for disaster relief?
Sam said the insurance and banking industries tended to be backward looking in terms of risk. The KiwiSaver industry, however, could easily invest $400 billion into New Zealand by 2050 because it would accept lower rates of return in exchange for the certainty of an asset.
“We want to do it. Industry thinking is too small, too bespoke. I want to see multibillion-dollar long-term plans then we can really get on board that train.”
David said the real challenge was how to collaborate and share costs. His explained how his organisation, Toha, was seeking to use decentralised finance technology to enable new ways to pay for public and private value and enabling co-investment with whenua Māori.
In Tairawhiti, Toha was using its system to enable co-investment with whenua Māori, pulling together public and private money through the sale of digital tokens, called mahi – a “unit of work in service to nature”.
“It is a way to pay people to do work on the land to improve and repair landscapes and create resilience. That creates revenue flow and on the back of that you can bring in more improvements. We need to bring in these little innovations to make the system tick.”
Upscaling required taking a punt on new ways of doing things.
Brad said it was becoming clear that water management was not so much about the awa but about managing the land. “The money is there; we just have to tap into it.”
From left, David Hall, Toha; Helmut Modlik, Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatiro; Tonia Haskell, Wellington Water; Sam Stubbs, Simplicity; and Brad Tiller, Tonkin + Taylor.
Our primal relationship with water
Paul O’Callaghan of BlueTech Research says he’s not a film maker, he has a day job as a water scientist. Nevertheless, he recently produced the documentary Our Blue World, in which he set out to explore the deep human connection we have with water.
“If we can win hearts and minds, and we can get people to value water, to care about it, and maybe fall in love with water, that would be a good thing, and everything else can flow from there,” he told Stormwater Conference delegates in his keynote address.
Paul O’Callaghan
for six months of the year followed by six months without. Consequently, the city was a water kingdom with vast water reservoirs to balance the ebb and flow of the water cycle.
“It also informs their mythology, their spirituality, the whole idea of reincarnation.”
He says water defines who we are. Wherever we come from, there’s usually a body of water there, and it defines our place in the world.
Moreover, it runs through our creation myths and our origin stories – we all know the story of Noah’s Ark, yet Paul says there are around 3000 known flood myths around the world.
“It’s astonishing. It’s almost like there’s a folk memory there of the ending of the last ice age, when so much water was flowing off the land that it must have left an indelible mark on the human psyche.”
He says humans have been measuring and monitoring water for at least the past 5000 years, from the times of the Egyptians, who had the Nileometer, measuring the water level year on year and using it to plan how much grain they needed to store to avoid famine.
“China can be defined by its relationship with water. It runs through its politics, its spirituality, its philosophy – from Taoism, Confucianism, and so on. An emperor’s fitness to govern was directly related to their ability to manage water.
With this as the backdrop, Paul and his team travelled the world to unpack different stories. They visited a water festival in Peru in the Andes.
“What jumped out to us more than anything was the young people were really embracing this idea. I think that idea of a new generation discovering something that’s really 1000 years old, but is actually very, very relevant today.”
In Cambodia, the ancient city of Angkor Wat historically had a lot of water
When Paul visited New Zealand, he learned about the relationship between the sky, earth, and land as told in the Māori tradition. He says one of the key things that jumped out was the way traditional ideas are making their way into more conventional ways on thinking about and managing water.
“This is something that we’re seeing all over the world, which is quite remarkable. It’s like a renaissance movement.”
He says people are ready now to look back at things that they have perhaps forgotten or lost contact with, and are open to rediscovering them.
In his day job as a water scientist, Paul studies the adoption and evolution of water innovation and solves water challenges. He’s watched the growth of sponge cities around the world – studying the adoption of these technologies and how they manifest around the world.
“Some of them are really beautiful.”
A more recent trend he noted was the role that large corporations were starting to play, sometimes in partnership with governments, in creating solutions. For example, Apple was replenishing aquifers in Oregan to source water for data centres and restoring rivers and wetlands in California, and Microsoft was implementing rainwater harvesting projects.
Thanks to a new satellite launched last year, scientists were getting unprecedented access to data in real time: “This is a gamechanger, allowing us to understand what is happening in our rivers and catchments better than we ever could previously.”
Paul says that to do our job as water professionals, we have to get people excited about water, or at least to care enough to want to be interested, and that is the aim of his film projects.
Fighting for his river
In a speech entitled ‘My Awa is Not your Drain’, Kara Puketapu-Dentice, CEO of Taranaki Whanui ki te Upoko ote Ika, said he feels duty-bound to serve as guardian of his history, an upholder of his culture, and fierce advocate for the future.
“My awa, the Waiwhetu stream, stands as a living symbol of our struggles and our resilience as a people, as a water body, as part of our environment.
“Before the arrival of European settlers, the Waiwhetu stream was an integral part of a network of waterways that our iwi and hapu relied upon. It was more than just a water source, it was a highway for transport, a cupboard of food, a cradle for our spirituality.”
However, he says, after 1840, the land around his tribal areas began to transform. His ancestors ploughed gardens where the Beehive now stands, but were pushed out of the area into the Hutt Valley.
“It became our new home... yet colonial overreach and encroachment followed us... taking pieces of our land. The stories of these
lands forever taken continue to resonate deeply within our people.”
Over the years, the land has been reshaped, the rivers and streams tamed to serve development. The rivers were not seen as living entities, but as things to be controlled.
By the 1950s, the river had become a dumping ground for waste. In 1972, Kara says, it infamously caught fire due to the sheer quantity of flammable pollutants being discharged into it.
“The once lifeblood of our community, the Waiwhetu stream, was subjected to relentless industrial abuse, causing severe environmental harm.”
He went on to say the iwi and wider community, spurred by the degradation they witnessed, began to demand cleaner water and to return the stream to its former glory.
The 1990s marked a significant turning point for the stream. Hutt City Council upgraded the wastewater treatment plant and set stricter controls around the discharge of pollutants.
Kara says he must acknowledge the tireless
efforts and leadership of his iwi’s rangatira, Teri Puketapu.
“He was an unwavering champion of our awa. He gave it a human voice, ensuring its concerns and cries were heard. His dedication ensured that our stream was safeguarded and restored, preventing it from falling victim to continued neglect and pollution.
“He played a pivotal role in a significant clean up that took place in the lower reaches of our awa, removing tonnes and tonnes of contaminants. That clean up in 2006 was a pivotal moment for our Waiwhetu stream.”
Six years later, the Waiwhetu Stream Restoration Project was established.
“Our community is beginning to see the fruits of their labour. Native fish species and plant life are returning. The water quality is gradually improving.
“But even so, more is to be done. Because our awa is not your drain. It is not a convenience for industrial progress at the expense of our culture, our traditions, and ultimately, our future generations.”
Kara says he will honour Teri’s legacy by continuing the fight.
“We educate the next generation about the importance of our awa, and we hold accountable those to seek to harm our environment.”
No quick fixes, but plenty to be optimistic about
There are no quick fixes when it comes to water security, Robert C Brears told his audience at the Stormwater Conference. The intergenerational planning required would take decades, and that included stormwater solutions, but some places were already taking action.
Amid the somewhat gloomy news –urbanisation damaging the water in our streams and sewer outflows dumping into the ocean and killing aquatic life – he said it was becoming recognised that stormwater was actually a resource, “not something that we just flush out to sea”.
Several cities around the world were implementing nature-based solutions such as stormwater harvesting and groundwater recharge. He cited successful examples in Melbourne, Los Angeles, Singapore, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam.
The irony, he pointed out, was that such practices had been around for thousands of years in older cultures.
“We love to reinvent the wheel.”
The benefits of stormwater harvesting included enhancing infiltration, groundwater recharge, and lower surface water levels.
“It can also be used to improve water quality. Instead of just capturing water that contains chemicals, brake fluids, etc, if we hold on to it for a little bit longer, we can purify it through natural processes and then release it into waterways, which leads to aquatic benefits.
“Stormwater can replenish groundwater through the use of permeable pavements, infiltration basins and trenches that allow stormwater to percolate, creating habitats for wildlife, pollinators and recreational opportunities.”
Robert stressed the importance of public education and community participation. Because many nature-based solutions could take decades to mature, maintenance costs could be prohibitive to local authorities. Communities could take ownership – for example, cleaning out rubbish, ‘adopt a drain’.
“We know there are green solutions to manage stormwater sustainability and we know they
improve water quality. On the other side of the coin are the existing grey solutions. When you create hybrid solutions, bringing together the green and grey, you can get the best of both worlds.”
In fact, he said, the world needed to move beyond the concept of stormwater towards “bluegreen cities”, merging nature-based solutions with smart water technologies to manage stormwater effectively.
Unfortunately, one of the barriers was political interference and short election cycles. Financial incentives were critical, he said. Rather than relying on public sector finance for everything, many cities were now sharing the burden with the private sector – giving financial incentives and subsidies for solutions on private property.
Data collection and performance modelling were also critical to prove that solutions were doing what they are meant to do, which could entice investors.
“You can’t do a quick fix. Stormwater management is about transitioning towards the future you want and setting a strategic goal of where you want to be.”
Kara Puketapu-Dentice
Robert C Brears
Heads together for flood management
The case for better coordination of stormwater approaches nationwide is even more pressing after the significant flood events in the first half of 2023.
In acknowledgement of that, a preconference workshop, After the Floods, was dedicated to thinking about what has been learnt and what can be done differently.
More than 50 delegates took part in a brainstorming session following presentations from council staff and water professionals that recalled the impact of Cyclones Hale and Gabrielle and other weather events around the country.
Fiona Macdonald’s presentation illustrated the pitfalls of doing flood risk assessment in what she called “more innocent times”. The Auckland Council flood risk principal said that in early January 2023, Auckland was in a good position: “We understood the flood risk. We were doing everything we were required to do and more.”
Then came the Anniversary Weekend rain event in late January, in which 1200 homes were flooded, closely following by Cyclone Gabrielle and three other storms equivalent to 50- to 100-year events.
Modelling for the flooding had proved correct, she said.
“We were starting to get a good understanding of what had happened, but we still didn’t act to reduce that risk. We didn’t have the mandate or funding to act to reduce risk.”
Some of that frustration was addressed when central government approved new funding and processes were set up for people to have their properties categorised, which is ongoing.
In terms of stormwater, despite best practice maintenance, blockages happened and would happen again, she said.
There was still poor awareness in the community about the risks around floodwaters.
Property buyouts were happening, but, she said, that was just scratching the
surface and if the event happened again the outcomes would be similar.
“We need to change short-term recovery work into long-term change. We need more awareness and a framework for people to really understand their risks.”
Now, there was a clearer mandate for action, but the scale of the issues nationally was not yet understood, she said.
Craig Mountford, an engineer with the Hastings District Council, had only been in the job for six months when Cyclone Gabrielle descended and put unsustainable pressure on pump stations and threatened dam integrity.
He recalled a night of barely controlled chaos as council staff dealt with the unprecedented event, watching their monitors light up at 2am with region-wide red alerts for stormwater and wastewater overloads.
By daylight, power was out, the cell phone network was intermittent and downed trees were restricting access to affected areas. Then, at 7am, the Mangarau Dam, one of five near Havelock North, started spilling, with 35 cubic metres a second coming down the Mangarau Stream. The other dams were ‘lapping’ at the edges,
The currents in the flood waters were so strong, people were having to hold on to fences as they tried to get to safety, Colin said.
In the aftermath, there were lots of lessons learnt, he said, along with ongoing silt clean up, property buyouts, and demolitions.
Key projects, many needing to be started from scratch, were now part of a three-year programme, with resulting pressure on budgets.
From the Far North, Marama Pohatu, chair of the Muriwhenua Incorporation, based in the Te Hapua region, talked about the Parengarenga Harbour and a community that was already acutely aware of climate change issues with erosion threatening their coastline, degrading the environment and affecting some traditional practices.
The need for managed retreat had been recognised, and the area is in the process of relocating the Te Hiki o te Ika Marae to higher ground. She said many residents were reluctant to take part and there was a lot of push back. “But when Cyclone Gabrielle arrived, that led to more acceptance and engagement,” she said.
Meanwhile, Westport, located on a flood plain, has been facing challenges for several
After the Floods panel members: Ian McComb, Craig Mountford, Paul Barker, Fiona Macdonald, and Marama Pohatu.
years, with major floods in July 2021 and February 2022.
Paul Barker, a partnership director with the Department of Internal Affairs, talked about how that area, located on a flood plain, had had to come to terms with the concept of moving from response and recovery to resilience.
A plan was developed between local councils and Ngāti Waewae with technical experts, including river engineers, to create a business case for co-investment with central government. Ministers supported the approach based on the PARA (Protect, Avoid, Retreat, Accommodate) framework and the West Coast Regional Council would co-invest $10 million along with $22.9 million from the Government.
Flood protection would be built in stages over the next two to three years, but funding for stormwater had been excluded from the package due to the current water reforms.
In Tasman, senior infrastructure planning adviser with Tasman Bays District Council Ian McComb said the area had mostly dodged the 2023 rain events, but
had been forced to make significant changes after a series of severe rainfall inundations since 2008, with much of that work related to natural hazard and subdivision planning.
Water New Zealand technical lead (regulatory and catchment) Nicci Wood said it was clear that the difference in operational and capital expenditure between stormwater and the other waters was significant and management was inconsistent across the country. The 2022 National Performance Review showed that stormwater networks received, on average, a third of the funding of wastewater or drinking water systems.
Looking ahead
Attendees at the workshop were asked to think about a cohesive national approach to stormwater hazard modelling and smarter land use planning controls and design standards.
Considering New Zealand’s flood control policies and stormwater systems were designed for the climate as it was 50 or more years ago, there was consensus that a new system must be built for the
climate we have now and in 50 years.
Current flood models and maps being used to inform land use policy meant the country was continuing to build in hazardprone ‘dumb’ places.
Problematic placement of housing and infrastructure would create significant future costs and potential environmental health risks. For example, during Cyclone Gabrielle in Napier, the Redclyffe substation flooded, cutting off power to most of Napier, the Ravensdown fertiliser factory flooded, polluting aquatic environments, and the Awatoto wastewater treatment plant was submerged and became inoperable.
There was also a need to educate the community about the residual risks after stop banks, spillways and other infrastructure measures were implemented.
During Cyclone Gabrielle, stop banks in Pakowhai, Puketapu and Taradale, which provide protection from most floods, were overtopped. Intensified development behind a new or rebuilt stop bank is still a significant risk if the stop bank fails or in an extreme rain event.
Pointers for partnership
A Stormwater Conference workshop to create a guide on ‘how to be a good partner to tangata whenua’ had input from an organisation that’s been “doing co-governance for so long, we’ve almost forgotten we’re doing it”.
Charles Ropitini, Heretaunga Hastings District Council principal Māori adviser, told the workshop that the council was the first in the country to appoint an iwi liaison officer, and it has had a Māori Joint Committee since 2005.
The council works with 13 mana whenua groups and Charles offered five ideas for building successful relationships:
1. Māori diplomacy – i.e., make the most of every engagement, go to cultural events and talk.
2. Keep up with the “kumara vine… it moves faster than emails”.
3. Whakarongo – to listen, yes, but also to make peace.
4. Share the project – “it’s not all about you” – and come with a Kaupapa.
5. Have a way of working; be genuine and avoid being combative.
The council’s stormwater manager, Craig Mountford, told the workshop that when he joined the council in 2022, initial interactions with tangata whenua had been challenging. During one conversation he was told, “We don’t recognise Western science”.
“I thought, ‘Does this mean I have nothing to offer?’ ”
With a shift in terms of thinking about colonialism, he was somewhat on the back foot, having been through an education system that had little information about Māori history and culture. But subsequent sharing of knowledge and building of relationships had resolved many of those insecurities, and he acknowledged the value of an adviser such as Charles.
“We can’t take steps on this journey until we know where we are going,” Craig said. “It’s all in the relationships and sharing knowledge. I do feel Western science has some part to play. We can’t go back to the way we lived in the 1840s, but we can look back to move forward.”
For example, when he was thinking about options for improving the stability of land in the district affected by scour and erosion, he wondered about using sandbags made from woven flax and raupo. It was a natural solution inspired by an area that had once had a rich aquaculture economy.
Charles thought it was a great idea – reviving that heritage “to help the economy now, with a nature-based, co-design engineering solution that pulls mana whenua into the project”.
In her presentation, Carra Hamon, of Te Runanga o Toa Rangitira leadership team, also stressed the importance of relationship building in strategic partnerships, including a willingness to work together and with a kaupapa to focus on. “Getting to know one another” made the difference around understanding each party’s position, she said.
The workshop was facilitated by Water New Zealand’s Te Mana o te Wai subcommittee, chaired by Sarah Nolan, who said the aim
was to gather ideas as a starting point to create a ‘living’ guide to partnership with tangata whenua that would evolve over time.
Te Mana o te Wai 101
Water New Zealand board member Troy Brockbank gave a presentation on the fundamentals of Te Mana o te Wai (TMOTW), the National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management, as it relates to stormwater professionals.
It’s not new, he said, covering off the whakapapa of TMOTW since it was developed in 2007.
“Everyone knows about it, but perhaps hasn’t paid a lot of attention to it. If we want to uplift the industry, we need to know about Te Mana o te Wai, in depth, and how to use it. We’re not just talking about water, but about each of us and every company we work alongside.”
TMOTW was about uplifting the mana of water – a traditional concept, but not just a Māori one. “It’s an all-of-Aotearoa concept. I am the water, the water is me. We can’t separate it out, but as water professionals we sometimes need to. We know that because of the mahi we do in the water space, we need to compartmentalise things, so we can specialise to achieve outcomes.”
There had to be balance between cultural and commercial needs. The problem, he said, was that the industry didn’t always cycle back to what he called the hierarchy of mana. “Thinking about projects – how am I going to enhance the mana of this project and the community, my own mana and the mana of TMOTW?”
For example, developing ongoing, balanced and mutually beneficial relationships that were mana-enhancing.
“If you look at Local Water Done Well, that is TMOTW. You can’t do Local Water Done Well without TMOTW, without the community. Local is in the name.
Ch arles Ropitini
Sarah Nolan
Craig Mountford
Troy Brockbank
Diversity should be measured by outcomes, not inputs
At the conference, five panellists issued a compelling challenge to the sector: It's not enough to simply open the doors to diversity – we must ensure that diverse perspectives actively drive better outcomes for stormwater management.
Rawiri Faulkner, pou toa matarau, Te Runanga o Toa Rangatira, emphasised that while progress has been made in boosting participation, there’s still more to do.
“We can’t measure diversity by inputs – by the number of Māori or women involved – it must be measured by the outcomes. It’s more than opening the door,” he said.
The panel, from left, Rawiri Faulkner, pou toa matarau, Te Runanga o Toa Rangatira; Josie Fitzgerald, land & water leader, Aurecon, and chair of Diversity Agenda Steering Committee; Uki Dele, chief advisor, stormwater & climate resilience, Wellington Water; Dr Deborah Lind, water leader, Aurecon; and Gillian Blythe, CEO, Water New Zealand.
“We have a challenge in front of us to get everybody in this space creating the opportunity for outcomes and the outputs to be different. If we don’t measure the outcomes, we are only realising half the success we can achieve.”
An organisation that is already driving meaningful outcomes through collaboration and systems-thinking is Wellington Water. Chief advisor, stormwater & climate resilience Uki Dele explained how its partnership with mana whenua, including agreements with Ngāti Toa Rangatira and Taranaki Whānui ki te Upoko o Te Ika, is shifting thinking and mindsets.
“It not only enhances the diversity of our solutions, but it also gives us the opportunity to incorporate mātauranga Māori into our systems – this is relevant not only on the technical level but also on the political level.”
Josie Fitzgerald, land & water leader at Aurecon and chair of the Diversity Agenda Steering Committee, shed light on the Diversity Agenda's strategic priorities, emphasising the importance of nurturing cultural and Māori capabilities and fostering diverse leadership throughout the sector.
As for Water New Zealand, CEO Gillian Blythe is invested in enabling more resilient stormwater outcomes by opening the sector’s eyes to new ways of thinking, through actively seeking iwi to speak at conferences, and engaging with all communities –especially those who have been traditionally overlooked.
A common theme was the need to broaden our understanding of diversity and innovation. It's not just about technical advancements, but also about transforming our approach to water management and decision-making.
Innovative ideas and themes from the workshop attendees included:
• Building a more diverse pipeline of talent by looking to new ways of training, including cross training engineering with other modalities.
• Focusing recruitment and talent attraction efforts on communities where we know we lack representation.
• Showcasing diverse role models – “you can be what you see”.
• Building water literacy by engaging with schools and pre-schools.
• Building relationships with communities and iwi before a project is fully shaped to enable them to influence and share the outcomes they want to achieve.
• Focusing on communities that have been overlooked, especially rural and isolated places where social and economic divides can be barriers to participation. Driving lasting change demands a collective and sustained effort.
As an industry leader, ask yourself: What am I doing today to ensure diverse perspectives shape our stormwater outcomes for the better?
Congratulations to the 2024 award winners
Stormwater Professional of the Year, sponsored by Aurecon, went to Alistair Allan. Alistair has been dedicated to stormwater for 16 years and specialises in community-led solutions for watercourses, flood risk and stormwater management. Alistair has had many successes in his career but one of his most enduring was as project manager of the Waiwhetu Stream project. In 2007 the Waiwhetu Stream was known to be New Zealand’s most contaminated. His work in restoring the stream, along with the formation of The Friends of the Waiwhetu Stream, has been a huge environmental success.
Most notably, Alistair acted as stormwater lead role at the National Transition Unit, representing the wider stormwater industry. His technical leadership was apparent in his contribution to the RiverLink Project for Greater Wellington Regional Council, and he is currently the WSP surface water lead, water augmentation at Wellington Water.
Charlotte Arcus of Tonkin + Taylor was named as the Young Stormwater Professional of the Year. The award, sponsored by Beca, recognises a Young Stormwater Professional, under 35, who has made a significant contribution to the stormwater industry, the general community, and has consistently demonstrated exceptional achievement in the early stages of their career.
The judges say communication is a cornerstone of Charlotte’s professional ethos and she has strived to maintain clarity, empathy and care with all her interactions, whether they are with team members, stakeholders or with the community.
This is apparent through Charlotte’s work with the University of Auckland’s Women in Engineering programme, and Engineering New Zealand’s The Wonder Project, passing on her passion, wisdom and excitement to encourage others. Read her profile on page 30.
Paper of the Year, sponsored by Water New Zealand, was won by Marcus Burrows, Steven Woods and Petra O’Bery of Stantec, and Peter Christensen of Christchurch City Council for the paper, “Cashmere Valley, Applying Dam Principles to Stormwater”. The award was collected by Marcus.
The judges say the paper provides a comprehensive and insightful examination of applying dam principles to stormwater management, using the Cashmere Valley Dam project as a case study. It demonstrates sound technical knowledge, practical relevance, and original contributions to the field. The clarity of presentation and logical structure further enhance its value as a resource for professionals and researchers in the field of civil and environmental engineering. Read the abstract on page 26.
Stormwater Poster of the Year, sponsored by Water New Zealand, was won by John Tetteroo of GHD. John’s poster was titled “Improving Road Stormwater Runoff Quality Through TetraTrap Implementation”.
It describes the role that TetraTrap can play in improving stormwater runoff quality, for better environmental and community outcomes. The poster was praised by the judges for its clarity, readability and its message of improving environmental and community outcomes. See the poster on page 27.
Stormwater Project of the Year, sponsored by Stormwater360, was won by Stantec, Nelson City Council, Boffa Miskell, Taylors Contracting, Nelmac, Ching Contracting, and Hynds for Te Pā Harakeke. Pictured with the trophy are Avik Halder of Stantec and Rebecca Dawkins of Nelson City Council.
What made this project stand out from the rest was its attention to detail and the delivery of the project. The client felt like the project exceeded their expectations. Stantec led the multi-stakeholder collaboration with the council to develop a solution with quality stormwater engineering that meets the community’s needs. See the story on page 46.
Alex Cartwright of Tonkin + Taylor was the winner of the Presentation of the Year, sponsored by Water New Zealand. His presentation was titled, “Defining Resilience: A prerequisite for effective flood management”.
Sam Clive from Intergroup was the winner of the Innovation Showcase Sponsored by Water New Zealand for Construction of an Industry-Leading Resource Recovery Facility
Cashmere Valley, applying dam principles to stormwater
This is the abstract from the winning Paper of the Year, by Marcus Burrows, Steven Woods, and Petra O’Bery of Stantec, and Peter Christensen, Christchurch City Council.
Following the major earthquakes in Canterbury in 2010 and 2011, flooding of properties along the Ōpāwaho Heathcote River significantly worsened due to a combination of effects such as settlement of buildings and deposition of silt in the river.
In order to respond to this change in the environment and build resilience in the stormwater system against future climate change, Christchurch City Council (CCC), amongst other flood mitigation projects, has constructed a network of significant flood detention basins and naturalised wetlands.
The construction of larger flood detention basins in urban areas is likely to be part of the flood mitigation strategies in many parts of New Zealand in the future.
New Zealand is in the process of adopting new regulations that relate to dam safety of existing dams. New regulations define a ‘classifiable dam’, which will require dam engineering principles and compliance with the legislation in the future.
This paper highlights CCC’s newest flood storage basin, the Cashmere Valley Dam, and presents key considerations required to apply dam engineering principles to flood detention dams, in particular:
• Understanding the potential consequences of a dam failure so that a Potential Impact Classification of low, medium or high can be assigned.
• Flood modelling required to complete the consequence assessment, particularly in a highly populated urban environment.
• Using different soils through the embankment cross section to achieve seepage control and stability.
• Detailing around pipe penetrations through earth embankments to control seepage.
• Spillways designed and constructed to operate safely under significant flows.
• Construction monitoring required of engineers – where to look and what to focus on.
• The size of floods that dams are designed to safely pass, which are generally much larger than the floods considered for stormwater design.
Construction of dams requires engineering monitoring that is focused on dam engineering principles and is significantly more rigorous than what may be considered typical for earth and civil structures. The Cashmere Valley Dam monitoring and surveillance began from the ground up.
This paper highlights how ‘softer’ engineering solutions can be applied to dams in urban setting so that they integrate sympathetically with the surrounding environment, and the ability to use the reservoir formed behind flood detention dams for recreation and environmental enhancement purposes.
To read the full paper, go to: https://rb.gy/ulsz1j
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Improving Road Stormwater Runoff Quality Through TetraTrap Implementation
Background
–The TetraTrap device is inserted into catchpits to screen solid pollutants
–Since its creation 15 years ago, more than 3500 units have been installed across the Auckland region
Methodology
– This was the first independent field-based evaluation of TetraTrap effectiveness
– Purpose was to determine how much more effective stormwater catchpits were at capturing solids when TetraTraps were installed
– Conducted over a period of two years in Auckland’s North Shore, finishing in late 2020
– 14 Catchpits along Albany Highway, monitored for 12 months with TetraTraps installed, and another 12 months without
– Measurements were taken from solids retained in the catchpits and from stormwater discharged from the catchpits
– Group of catchpits nearby was simultaneously monitored as a control group
TetraTrap features
– Metal screen to prevent solids from passing through
– Uses existing catchpit maintenance regime
– 30-year plus lifespan
– Easily retrofitted to existing catchpits, easily redeployed to other catchments
– During heavy rainfall, water can overflow through the top of the device, maintaining hydraulic performance and preventing blockage
Conclusions
–Results of NIWA study indicate that the TetraTrap is effective at reducing solids discharged from stormwater catchpits
–Widespread implementation to date indicates the device can be practically implemented at scale
–The TetraTrap can play a role in improving stormwater runoff quality, for better environmental and community outcomes
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FUTURE PROOFING WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE
Contech has released a new and superior product called Sewper Liner, which protects concrete wastewater assets from biogenic corrosion better, faster, and with less prep work and downtime than any other liner on the market.
The problems of the country’s aging water infrastructure are well known, and the costs of bringing it up to date are staggering. However, solutions that can revitalise old infrastructure to increase its lifespan or ensure a longer life for new infrastructure are a boon for local authorities looking to save money now and in the future.
Most Kiwi water engineers are familiar with Sewper Coat, a spray on liner that repairs and prevents further damage caused by biogenic corrosion in wastewater environments – from large pipes and wet wells to tanks, pump stations, and more.
Sewper Coat has been performing its job well for the past 30 years, repairing and revitalising damaged concrete. However, manufacturer Imerys saw a gap in the market for a product that can be applied to new infrastructure, preventing biogenic corrosion from the outset.
Available through Contech, the exclusive distributor for Imerys in New Zealand, Sewper Liner is a big step forward in lining technology. Contech director Derek Bilby explains:
“The big difference here is being proactive and extending the life of an asset from the start. Sewper Liner provides long-term protection and ensures that the assets we’re building today are going to perform right into the future.”
“The application is very controlled – there’s very little rebound (loss) when it’s being applied – as well as being very quick, making it a lot more economical,” explains Mark.
Biogenic corrosion a serious problem for asset owners when the right conditions are present; driven by temperature and humidity, acidophilic bacteria thrive in the wastewater environment and are capable of destroying up to 25mm of concrete per year.
Contech business development manager Mark Kurtovich says many structures throughout the country have been affected by biogenic corrosion, and it’s very expensive to get it repaired.
“From a sustainability point of view, it’s terrible, because an awful lot of energy and product has to go into fixing it. The time to sort the problem is at construction.”
Recently, Contech demonstrated the application of Sewper Liner to an audience of wastewater engineers, who were very impressed not only with how easy the product was applied, but the lack of constraints in applying it.
They watched as a fine coating was sprayed onto a concrete surface. Unlike Sewper Coat, which goes on at 15-50mm thick, Sewper Liner is applied at a minimum of 6mm.
To prevent biogenic corrosion and to repair minor damage, wastewater concrete infrastructure is typically sprayed with polymer liners, like epoxy, as a form of protection. However, the polymer’s lack of durability means, in some cases, it can fail after only a few years.
Additionally, polymer materials are expensive and hard to use as dry surfaces are required for proper bonding to occur.“
Contech demonstrates gamechanging Sewper Liners ease of application
Epoxies require exacting environmental conditions regarding dew point, humidity, and concrete moisture, otherwise it will potentially fail prematurely and then allow the concrete to be exposed to biogenic corrosion.
“They also raise health and safety issues regarding working with inorganic volatile compounds and solvents in confined spaces.”
In contrast, Sewper Coat and Sewper Liner use a calcium aluminate mortar solution. This cementitious product induces a ‘bacterio-static effect’ which inhibits acid generation at the source. It bonds very well to moist surfaces, does not induce pin holes and provides rock solid structural rehabilitation within a few hours.
Additionally, the Sewper Liner formulation is specifically designed to achieve long-lasting protection on the dry, flat and smooth walls of new concrete assets – no prep work required.
“One of the obvious applications for this is pipes, and it can actually be applied to the mould before the pipe is cast, resulting in a lined pipe,” says Mark. “So if, for example, you’re constructing a large manhole, you can either line it
in the factory or apply Sewper Liner using a spinning head which you simply pull up the manhole as it sprays the liner on.”
“If we can proactively protect these structures, quickly and easily, it’s not going to be hugely disruptive in terms of timing of the construction process, and we can really deliver superior protection over the life of that asset,” says Derek. It is also ideal for remediating lightly damaged assets.
After being applied in a thin layer, it will harden within six hours and be at service strength in 24, says Mark. “This is an important factor in remediation works, as this means the affected pipe is only offline for a day.”
“Sewper Liner is simply a better option. It is costeffective, easier to apply, significantly longer lasting, and a more sustainable product, all while delivering the same performance.”
For more information on Sewper Liner or Sewper Coat email akl@contech.co.nz or call 09 274 9259
Wonder woman
Charlotte Arcus was named as this year’s Young Stormwater Professional of the Year at the gala dinner at the recent Stormwater Conference. She talked to Mary Searle Bell about her career leading up to this accolade.
At school, Charlotte’s passion for maths and science was balanced by her love of being creative. In fact, when she took a career quiz in Year 12, her results suggested a career as a hat maker!
“Oddly enough, I thought of that moment years later, when I was a graduate providing construction monitoring of a landfill liner installation – the specialist welders were essentially cutting out a sewing pattern in HDPE liner and ‘stitching’ the pieces together.”
Fortunately, for the water sector, her careers advisor suggested she head along to a Women in Engineering day. That was enough to see her enroll in a Bachelor of Engineering at the University of Auckland.
“I found real alignment with engineering. I was challenged by the concepts, but was surrounded by like-minded friends and, because of my Rarotongan heritage, found support through SPIES – the South Pacific Indigenous Engineering Society.
“The first year is a general course so you get a taste of different engineering fields, which was really helpful for me. In a process of elimination, I chose to do civil engineering as it leant towards opportunities to engage with the community and make a positive contribution to the environment.
“In my third and fourth years, I focused on environmental and water-focused papers, like hydrology, hydraulics and stormwater management. We were using a draft version of Auckland Council’s Guidance Document 001, which I refer to often in my work these days.”
She started work with Tonkin + Taylor in 2014, taking a graduate role in its civil team because there wasn’t a position available in its water team.
Charlotte says, in hindsight, starting in the civil team exposed her to a wide variety of projects – from infrastructure capacity
assessments, three waters design, erosion sediment control, 3D modelling, to construction supervision, and more.
“I enjoyed working on a variety of multi-disciplinary projects for both public and private sector clients. I think this broad exposure helped me learn to be adaptable and draw on different perspectives really early on.”
After five years of work, Charlotte and her husband (who she met on her first day at Tonkin + Taylor) got the travel-bug and took a two-year sabbatical, moving to Bali and working part-time as contractors on New Zealand projects while travelling South East Asia.
“Living and travelling in third world countries really made me appreciate what we have in New Zealand, and emphasised to me how important it is to protect our natural environment.”
The couple returned home four years ago and Charlotte re-joined Tonkin + Taylor, this time in the water team, in pursuit of opportunities to develop expertise in stormwater management and design.
In his letter of support for Charlotte’s nomination for the stormwater award, Tonkin + Taylor managing director Tim Fisher says that since rejoining the company, Charlotte has shown a commitment to excellence both in her technical work and leadership in the stormwater management and design fields.
“Having acted as her direct supervisor, I’ve witnessed Charlotte’s technical growth in the stormwater space, her interpersonal skill, and genuine relationship building firsthand,” he writes.
“She has a proactive energy at getting things done and attracts responsibility; as a result, she has developed a strong technical foundation as a stormwater specialist in a few short years, to the point where she is recognised as a Chartered
Professional and doing Expert Witness work.”
And Charlotte is grateful for all the exposure and experiences she has been given.
“I’m a yes girl – but not in a people-pleaser way. I try to say yes to opportunities, even though my internal voice is often hesitant to go after them.
“Last year, I was project manager for one of Tonkin + Taylor’s major projects – the O Mahurangi Penlink Alliance – and was responsible for the longitudinal drainage and wetland packages from concept design through to construction.
“At the other end of the spectrum, I really enjoy the work I get to do in the stormwater management planning space. This often requires a holistic approach to develop sitespecific stormwater management solutions that protect and enhance the receiving environment for future generations.”
Future-focused, Charlotte is heavily involved with the Wonder Project, which creates STEM programmes geared towards primary school kids, and is one of their ambassadors.
“My hope is to open girls’ eyes to the possibility of a career as a stormwater engineer. The Wonder Project is in the process of designing a water challenge and I am delighted to have been able to contribute to that.”
Wonder Project directors Shelley Pearce and Gay Watson say Charlotte has been an integral and dedicated supporter of the programme, visiting classrooms to impart her wisdom, passion, and excitement for her work, and inspiring students to consider STEM career pathways.
“Charlotte is a model ambassador for the Wonder Project, going above and beyond expectations to ensure her students have a great experience. She is committed, inspiring, energising, and makes genuine connections with the students she supports.”
As for being named as the Young Stormwater Professional of the Year, Charlotte says it is the highlight of her career so far, but says she couldn’t have done it without the support and mentoring she has received along the way.
Duct Snakes
Porta
The man behind the scruffy dome
Stormwater engineers are familiar with the scruffy dome – it’s the galvanised steel cage that prevents debris from entering manholes – but who invented them? And why are they called scruffy domes? By Mary Searle Bell
The answer is simple and singular. They were designed by one Brian ‘Scruffy’ Smith, and through a happy accident, bear his nickname.
“I’m actually quite a well-dressed chap,” 92-year-old Brian told Water. “But once, years ago, I called one of the grader drivers Scruffy and he started calling me Scruffy back, and somehow it stuck.
“Then, when I sent a draftsman to get the measurements so he could draw up the debris control screen I had made, he wrote scruffy dome as a joke on the plan, and that’s what people called them.”
Brian was born in 1932 in Petone, where he attended the local primary school. In a somewhat bizarre turn of events, his parents sent him to board at Wellington College while they sold up the house and made plans to move to the South Island.
“They never told me their plans, so I couldn’t understand why I was being sent to boarding school.”
However, before they managed to move, Brian suffered a medical incident which sent him home for six months.
“I was doing drill on the hockey field and I collapsed. Later, in the sick bay at about 2am, I could hear the headmaster talking to matron saying, ‘if we told them we’ll have to close the whole school!’ I never knew what it was I had, but I suspect it was polio or meningitis.
“So to prevent closing the school, instead, I was bundled into a car – with all the windows closed – and sent home to recover.”
Brian returned to Wellington College to finish his schooling but says the months he missed ruined his education.
“I would have liked to have gone to varsity but my parents couldn’t afford it.”
Instead, Brian got a job as a junior in the head office of the BNZ, answering phones
and running around after staff, a job he didn’t like at all.
Fortunately, his career took a dramatic turn when he was out walking in the green space behind the parliament buildings one lunchtime.
“I saw a new temporary building so went over to have a look. It turned out to be the hydro design office of the Ministry of Works and I bumped into an old school friend who was working there as a draftsman.
“I thought it looked a lot more interesting than what I was doing, so I applied and got an engineering cadetship with them.”
Brian, by now 18 years old, first started working in the substation section before moving to the mechanical section, which took him to Rotorua for a while.
“It was great working there because of the number of designs for hydro schemes.
“I was then transferred to the housing division at the Ministry of Works in Hamilton.
The pulp and paper mill was being built in Kawerau, and we were creating the township – I helped design the roads, sewage and water networks.”
By then, his parents had abandoned their South Island plans and had moved to Auckland, so Brian decided to join them, and got a job with the Auckland Metropolitan Drainage Board.
“This was when the Māngere Sewage Treatment Plant was being built and I was put to work on building the tunnel in Blockhouse Bay.
“A French firm, Etudes Entrepise, had been contracted to do the work but were struggling, and Green & McCahill had been brought on to do the job. They were working flat out, laying six pipes a day compared to the French firm’s six pipes a week.
“The pipes were being made in Papakura, and they struggled to keep up once Green & McCahill started.
Brian ‘Scruffy’ Smith. Scruffy domes have been adopted by stormwater engineers around the world.
“On top of that, Etudes Entrepise only had one surveyor on the job, and he turned up around once every three days. We needed to get the tunnel driven and online, so I said, ‘I could do this’.
Brian did the surveying, setting out survey pegs for the crew to do the boxing, and then left to go and get married.
“When I got back the project manager and I were looking at the tunnel and he said, ‘it looks like the sewage is going to go back to New Lynn and not to Māngere’. It was the worst moment of my life. I rushed down with the level and checked my work three times. It was correct. It was just an optical illusion.”
Brian’s next job took him to the Waitemata County Council. He started as an engineer’s assistant and, at the age of 25, was put in charge of a sealing team.
“We used to hand spray – we did it the hard way, but you learn a lot doing it yourself.”
After five years at the council, he was ready for a change, so phoned the city engineer at Manukau City Council who offered him a job immediately. And while change was what
he wanted, it wasn’t the right change, and had an awful commute to boot.
“I felt I was treading water, so I took a job at Stahlton Flooring, which had me working all over the country.
“My most memorable incident there was when I noticed we were installing the wrong type of flooring in a building – it was to have a forklift working on it and the floor that was being installed wasn’t strong enough for that.
“I talked to the boss and he said, ‘no, no, I’m the engineer, you’ll do as you’re told. Ten minutes later he came rushing out of his office shouting, ‘you’re right!’ and we changed the type of floor.”
After around three years, Brian returned to Waitemata County Council, which soon became Waitakere City Council.
“They gave me the title of superintendent, but really, I was a trouble shooter – I could do roading, I could do water, I could deal with people.
“My boss, Tony Miguel, asked me if I could come up with a solution to keep debris from stormwater detention ponds entering the pipes.
“Most outlets of stormwater pipes are standard manholes and they have a lip in them, so I designed a dome made from gavanised steel, which rests on the lip.
“I had six made up and zinc sprayed, and while they were sitting in the loading bay, a consultant came in and asked what they were. I said they were debris control screens. He suggested I make a standard spec for them, so I sent a draftsman out to get the exact measurements. And he was the joker who dubbed them scruff y domes.
Since the first scruff y dome was made in 1988, many thousands have been made in a range of styles and sizes. Scruff y domes have been adopted by stormwater engineers around the world with resounding success. Brian retired to the South Island in 1992, leaving some 5000 scruff y domes behind in Auckland, a number which has grown considerably in the decades since.
For his efforts, Brian received no payment, no royalties, no mentions, “just a thank you at the time”. Nevertheless, his nickname is forever enshrined in stormwater history.
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In his career as a construction project manager, Dirk du Plessis has been making his mark around the world – from the diamond mines in Namibia, zinc and lead mines in South Africa, to the water and wastewater industry in Auckland.
The satisfaction of seeing the fruits of his labour when a job’s completed is one of the best parts of the job for Dirk: “I take my wife and kids for a drive and say: I was involved in this. It’s a great feeling,” he says.
These days though, as a project manager at Auckland’s Watercare, many of his projects are underground – out of sight, and for most people, out of mind.
Successful project management is all about people
His current portfolio sees him managing projects with a combined value of more than $160 million. They include a new pump station at Mairangi Bay on Auckland’s North Shore, and he’s also managing the East Coast Bays Pipeline, which will soon transfer the area’s wastewater to Watercare’s Rosedale Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Further up north, he’s responsible for three major components of an infrastructure scheme that will transform Warkworth’s wastewater services – the new Lucy Moore Pump Station, a five-kilometre transfer pipeline that will take wastewater to a new treatment plant at Snells Beach, and the ocean outfall completed in 2021 that will discharge highly-treated wastewater to the Hauraki Gulf.
seven years, before I moved back to South Africa to do various construction projects.”
These included workshops and underground facilities at the zinc and lead mines and diamond mines, roading projects, irrigation systems, food processing facilities, and a major revamp of Cape Town International Airport ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
In 2016 though, he started to eye up a move to Aotearoa New Zealand – motivated by the promise of work security and a better future for his two children, now aged 21, and 18.
“My job at Watercare was the first one I applied for. I had a long interview by video call late at night, and when I got the job I had four weeks to move.”
The transition was eased somewhat by a strong South African community in Auckland – and within Watercare.
“I think we have about 40 South Africans at Watercare at the moment. On my first job – the Army Bay wastewater outfall project – we had some of our meetings in Afrikaans!”
“It is a big responsibility – the only thing that keeps me up at night is keeping things on time and on budget.
“But one of the great things about my work is the trust I get from my managers. My manager, Alrick Sargent, trusts my experience and judgement, and that’s just awesome. He provides me the freedom to manage these projects to the best of my ability.”
Alrick describes Dirk as “a bit of a rock star”.
“He’s my senior project manager, my rock who I lean on. He’s very helpful and reliable, and is managing some very challenging projects simultaneously.
“He knows how to get the best out of people. He’s got good humour and is never short of a compliment. The team loves him.”
Dirk’s interest in engineering developed as a child growing up on an irrigation farm in the Northern Cape province of South Africa.
“All the water channels in various shapes and sizes – weirs, level control structures, and dams – fascinated me and inspired me to follow into civil engineering. I worked for the national government’s water construction unit during school holidays and ended up getting a scholarship to study civil engineering and specialise in hydraulics at the university of technology in Bloemfontein, where I obtained a diploma in civil engineering and B tech in hydraulics.”
After university, he worked at a design consultancy in South Africa before switching to construction.
“I was managing the construction of a diamond processing plant –De Beers – and housing development projects – in Namibia for about
Dirk says getting out of the office to visit his projects is one of the perks of the job.
“Look at this for a view from your office,” he says, at the Mairangi Bay Pump Station site. “It’s just amazing.
“It’s a healthy industry. It’s a good balance between being in the office and being outside. I was born in Africa. You can’t keep me inside – I’d die.”
But trumping the ability to work outdoors is the relationships he develops with people. Dirk loves having a yarn – and throwing in a few jokes – with the team on site.
“That’s the nice thing about this job. You get to know the people –the good ones, the calm ones, the nice ones, the hairy ones… and the scary ones,” he laughs.
He says good project managers need to be highly organised to stay on top of the multitude of tasks, challenges, risks and budget demands.
“You also have to be confident and prepared to fight for the objectives of the project – friendly, but firm and consistent.”
But the most important factor in a project manager’s success?
“I think you should be a people person. Regardless of what you study – electrical, mechanical, civil – it’s impossible for everyone to remember all that theoretical study material and rules.
“But to get the job done, you need people. Any project is 100 percent reliant on people, and if you’re friendly and treat them with respect, you’re going to get much better results.”
Article provided by Watercare
Under-resourced and lacking leadership – freshwater modelling in New Zealand needs improvement
By Simon Upton, parliamentary commissioner for the environment
If we are to turn around the declining state of New Zealand’s waterways, freshwater modelling is indispensable to understanding what is going on. But an absence of expertise and modelling leadership is holding back the value this tool can provide.
This is the key finding from my report released in June, ‘A review of freshwater models used to support the regulation and management of water in New Zealand’. The report investigates the suitability, strengths and limitations of water resource models currently used to predict freshwater quality and quantity. It also reviewed how these models are being used by councils to support freshwater regulation and management.
My enquiry revealed what many of those working in this field already know – water modelling here is fragmented, under-resourced, under-supported, and lacking leadership. Gaps, overlaps, inefficiencies and inconsistencies plague councils’ modelling use.
These shortcomings are partly a consequence of our highly devolved approach to environmental regulation, where individual councils have responsibility for managing their freshwater resources.
While central government sets requirements for councils to comply with, it provides little guidance or coordination to enable councils to discharge their obligations efficiently. Councils have been, for the most part, left to their own devices, with varying results impacting on the consistency of decision-making.
Some councils are now confident users of multiple models to support freshwater management, but others are uncertain which models are best for certain tasks and have struggled to use more complex tools.
All council staff interviewed as part of the investigation expressed the need for greater guidance on model choice and use in freshwater management.
Too many models with overlapping functions
My investigation involved a stocktake of models currently used by councils. It revealed that many of the 75 models identified had overlapping functions: they are used in the same environmental domain, for the same purpose, with identical assumptions and input parameters. For example, 47 models have been designed to model river water quantity, quality, or both.
Rather than adding value, this proliferation of models confronts regulators with the dilemma of having to choose the best-suited model for their intended purpose and defend that choice, sometimes against legal challenge. Such decisions are difficult for those who are not experts in modelling or model development.
The multiplicity of models stems from siloed and fragmented model development within research institutions and across councils. The competitive environment that research institutions operate in has made developers reluctant to share model code or input data, while intercouncil collaboration has been lacking.
The figure summarises an assessment of the 24 models that have been used by three councils or more. The number in the bar denotes the number of councils that have reported the use of any specific model. Complexity is categorised as 1 = simple; 2 = moderately complex; 3 = very complex. Transparency is categorised as fully transparent (green); moderately transparent (amber); not transparent (red). Models are also categorised as those that are focused on water quantity, water quality, or both. For the purposes of this evaluation, six ‘single use’ water balance models have been grouped together, as have three ‘single use’ nutrient (leaching) budgets. Source: PCE.
My investigation found that 60 percent of models used by councils were ‘single use’, meaning they had been developed for use by one council, often for a specific application in a particular location, and were not reused. While local conditions may mean place-specific models are needed, most of the widely used models are sufficiently sophisticated and flexible to be used in a variety of settings and catchments. However, few models are being used in this way.
New Zealand cannot afford to waste scarce modelling resources on forays into expensive and often ineffective model development and applications, especially when suitable tools already exist.
To address these issues, I recommend the creation of a national freshwater modelling support centre to help councils and mana whenua. I see this as the most efficient and effective way to implement much needed improvements to ensure more confident use of fit-forpurpose freshwater models.
Lack of guidance and evaluation
Current guidance on model use – including judging if a model is fit for purpose – is inadequate. The Ministry for the Environment’s guidance on developing and using models in a regulatory context does not provide specific advice on freshwater models, nor does it offer technical assessments of existing models.
It is therefore unclear if the models currently in use meet the evaluation criteria and good practice process described in the guidance. Council staff indicated that support for practical implementation of model use is also lacking.
My report includes a technical evaluation of the 24 most widely used biophysical freshwater models. It found that while most models have a good scientific basis, there were shortcomings with transparency, uncertainty and computational infrastructure. These weaknesses make it difficult to compare and reuse models or link models for specific tasks.
I recommend that the Ministry for the Environment further develops national guidance for the use of freshwater models in a regulatory context. I also suggest that regular evaluation of models is undertaken based on this guidance.
Furthermore, I propose that the ministry leads the development
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of a preferred suite of models capable of being adapted to local circumstances. A one-size-fits-all approach will not work, but we need a defined selection of models that councils can use with confidence. This type of approach works well overseas.
Lack of commitment to mana whenua developed models
The report on mana whenua developed models commissioned to accompany my investigation identified 34 models, but the use of these models in a regulatory context was found to be almost non-existent.
While the use of Māori freshwater models is in its early days, there has been little resource to assist mana whenua in navigating development challenges. Councils often commit to implementing mātauranga Māori tools but are unsure of how they align with regulatory requirements. Bringing these two systems together requires expertise on both sides and cannot be done without actively engaging mana whenua.
To help bridge this gap and support further development of Māori models, I suggest that the Ministry for the Environment establish a rōpū of experts. This group could also advise on the best process for engagement between councils and tangata whenua on freshwater modelling.
If actioned, the recommendations in my report would ensure that freshwater modelling is organised in a way that best supports the regulation and management of our waterways, enabling us to be responsible caretakers of our precious water resource.
To read Simon’s report, go to https://rb.gy/1jgeve
Enabling investment: Is the water sector innovative enough to try something different?
In the previous issue of Water, Brad Tiller, senior water resources consultant with Tonkin + Taylor, explored alternative funding sources that could be used to help bridge the water infrastructure funding gap. Examples included our sovereign wealth funds such as our NZ Super Fund, ACC, and KiwiSaver, which collectively represents $200 billion. In this issue, Brad discusses marketbased mechanisms such as incentives and disincentives, innovative impact finance and delivery models that could improve our infrastructure efficiency based on success abroad.
Home truths
The idea of exploring alternative funding sources to invest in water infrastructure was always going to cause a stir, but this is the type of conversation a critically underfunded industry should be having.
Since the release of part one in the previous edition of Water , several groups across the infrastructure sector such as councils, water service providers, iwi and consultancies, have reached out with overwhelming support of the idea.
Many had little awareness of the magnitude of our KiwiSaver or that most of it is invested overseas, or that our other two sovereign wealth funds, the Super Fund and ACC, invest so little into our domestic infrastructure.
Several from within the finance sector have also shown support, albeit wondering why this conversation hadn’t come from within their own silo… Perhaps it just takes someone not actually in an industry to challenge the status quo by asking the question.
Aside from the discussion on where the money could come from, both the infrastructure and finance sectors have acknowledged the rhetorical questions presented in part one as being on-point.
Although it made for confronting reading, these home truths extend well beyond the water sector – but regardless need to be our focus as a nation to move forward.
In case you missed it, let’s recap:
• Are we still a nation of thinkers courageous enough to try something different, or are we resting on our laurels and getting a bit soft?
• Are we becoming a nation that is good at talking about issues, but not really solving them?
• Has our reputation for bold problem-solving, fuelled by our isolation and innovative spirit, faded?
• Why is our financial innovation (that actually enables water infrastructure delivery and the development economy) not as progressive as other forward-thinking nations?
• We are a rich country with ample sovereign wealth, so why aren’t we drawing on our own funding sources as opposed to burdening ourselves with more international debt?
Worlds collide
Powerful things can happen when you bring together different perspectives. I was fortunate enough to chair a keynote panel discussion at the Water New Zealand Stormwater Conference in May on how we can enable investment through sustainable finance. It was the first time such a discussion had taken place at a water conference, but I think it’s safe to say the audience learnt a lot.
The profound moment for me was when Sam Stubbs of Simplicity asked the 300-plus audience to raise their hand if they supported the idea of our KiwiSaver owning a water network. Virtually everyone put their hand up.
But sustainable finance (the concept of directing capital and promoting environmental and social initiatives) goes beyond just supplying capital. It includes the way in which marketbased mechanisms and innovative impact finance and delivery models can be used. Describing these concepts will be the focus of this article.
Let’s use the carrot, and the stick
Market-based mechanisms come in several forms but largely involve influencing human behaviour through economics.
Incentives promote favourable outcomes through financial benefits to users such as subsidies, grants, cost shares and rates
Brad Tiller, Tonkin + Taylor.
credits. Disincentives on the other hand are designed to reduce undesirable behaviours by making them more costly or less attractive, generally through taxes or levies.
These concepts may not be new to you, but my research reveals our sector is decades behind other countries.
Aside from broad property rates which indirectly pay for water services utilities, the only targeted user pays model we have (in some regions) is for potable water use, and commercial wastewater discharge – both through metering.
There are, however, very few financial incentives to promote good outcomes – much of it relies on good will, and hope. Sure, some council design manuals promote low impact design for greenfield developments, but it doesn’t go far enough to minimise the ‘tragedy of the commons’ effect for existing properties.
Stormwater – the problem child with unrecognised potential
Stormwater runoff is directly linked to human behaviour through land use decisions – however no financial incentives or disincentives exist.
Once impervious surfaces are established, it is very difficult and costly to manage the effects. An impervious surfaces levy (or a stormwater utility charge) would change that. This is an equitable assignment of cost to a property owner that is proportionate to the demand placed on the stormwater network from each property. The more you pave, the more you pay.
Local jurisdictions in over 40 states in America have adopted a stormwater utility charge that not only generates revenue but influences land development choices and the subsequent load on the stormwater network.
Levy payers should equally, however, be provided the opportunity to lower the cost of the levy through favourable outcomes.
Currently, there are 14 states in the US that have implemented green infrastructure credit programmes. These programmes are designed to manage and reduce stormwater runoff by providing financial incentives or credits to property owners to implement green infrastructure practices such as rain gardens, permeable pavements, green roofs, re-use tanks, or even by using less fertiliser.
The programmes help municipalities meet water quality standards and manage stormwater more effectively by encouraging private landowners to contribute to these efforts.
Given the pluvial flooding our urban centres frequently experience, isn’t it time for our councils to consider this tool?
Aside from market-based mechanisms, what other initiatives should we consider?
Below are a few examples of concepts that could be used to solve our water woes. These are, by and large, concepts that already exist – we just need to be innovative to try something different.
Let’s utilise innovative impact finance and delivery models
I understand the public may be hesitant about the notion of private investment. From an economic standpoint however, water infrastructure is the all-pervading and enabling asset class that is holding our nation back.
Enabling investment into water services enhances quality of life and improves public health; increases property values, and unlocks economic growth; it protects the environment and
provides resilience to climate change for future generations.
It is widely agreed that infrastructure delivery through private finance is a concept that desperately needs a re-brand. This unfortunately stems largely from our limited experience with public private partnerships (PPPs).
Funding the water infrastructure deficit with ratepayers’ money through public delivered projects alone just won’t achieve the step change in levels of service required. It is widely agreed business as usual, can no longer be.
We need to widen the pool of available capital, so how can we achieve it?
Let’s generate revenue by measuring use better
As outlined in part one, it’s hard to generate revenue from an asset (or service) if we don’t measure its use.
International and/or domestic investors (such as our KiwiSaver) would only provide finance if returns could be realised through targeted levies over a long term (commonly referred to as revenue bonds). This sort of model would go a long way to achieving much needed balance sheet separation (BSS) for council-controlled organisations (CCOs).
But chasing BSS is like solving one face of a Rubik’s Cube – necessary, but not sufficient. Yes, BSS is the largest lever to influence a future council-controlled organisation’s credit rating – but to achieve that, we first need to show that we can generate revenue from what we build.
With the right structures in place, the private sector can share risk with the public sector and contribute expertise, innovation, rigour, and high-quality management of infrastructure assets.
The problem, however, is the perception of the private sector generating a return from the delivery of (traditionally) public infrastructure projects through PPP models. We certainly do have a checkered history delivering infrastructure to time and
cost as a nation, and worse – our largest construction firms often struggle to make a profit.
Three waters infrastructure is a gold-plated infrastructure class to finance on a hire-purchase type basis because it complements design, construction, and maintenance contracts over a long duration as common with PPPs.
Revenues from water use for instance can more easily be delineated to certain projects, and compliance performance can more easily be measured by, for instance, leakage rates. So, what does the private sector need to do to earn the public’s trust?
Let’s improve accountability by measuring impact better
Once something is built, we often don’t measure whether it achieved what we agreed on. If the payer of outcomes is the asset beneficiary – then surely evidence, not advocacy, generates trust and accountability. This is the purpose of impact investment and it involves three core characteristics:
• Intentionality – an investor’s intention to have a positive social or environmental impact through investments, collectively defining and agreeing to what good looks like.
• Expectation of return – the investment is expected to generate a financial return on capital or, at minimum, a return of capital.
• Impact measurement – a commitment by the investee to measure and report on the social or environmental performance and the progress of underlying investments, ensuring transparency and accountability.
An Environmental Impact Bond (EIB) is a perfect example of impact finance that coincidentally works really well for water infrastructure. It is an outcomes-based contract between a public entity and the private sector where payment is based on measured impact.
Think of it like a PPP but with more focus on measurable environmental impact.
A chart to illustrate the performance structure of the Washington DC Water and Sewer Authority environmental impact bond Source: Qualified Ventures.
Financing green infrastructure is the ideal candidate for EIBs because the impacts transcend both water quality and quantity, both of which can be easily modelled and measured. A reduction in runoff, achieved by increased absorption or infiltration; or a reduction in contaminants, achieved by source control and/or treatment are both considered a beneficial outcome or environmental impact.
EIBs are essentially ‘results-based finance’ where the results are defined in advance and outcome funders pay only once their achievement is independently verified.
The world’s first EIB (for USD $25m) was issued in 2016 by the Washington DC Water and Sewer Authority to fund the retrofit of bioretention gardens, urban swales, permeable pavements, and infiltration basins across 200 hectares of impervious urban land.
Following 12 months of baseline measuring, a 30 percent reduction in runoff was modelled post-installation, and the investors received a return on their investment. Better yet, a bonus performance coupon for USD $3.3m was agreed if targets were exceeded.
Let’s have an intergenerational investment focus in water
The government is looking for (and suggesting) novel private finance and delivery models for transport projects – so why not water?
There is huge potential for our sector to upgrade leaky watermains and undersized stormwater networks; construct new wastewater and potable treatment plants and build flood protection schemes through PPPs.
We can learn from the experiences of PPPs and reinvigorate the public’s trust in such models.
KiwiSaver and iwi are natural investors in infrastructure, but there are also international investors willing to invest in low-risk, long-term and stable infrastructure projects. The political will and mechanisms to encourage it, however, are lacking.
For us to have a chance of leaving a high quality of life for future generations we need to look further into the future.
Increasing the time horizon from the less than five-year Long Term Plan or election cycle we currently have would also provide international suppliers the confidence to commit equipment and staff on a larger scale. This is the first step required to achieve scale in our infrastructure delivery. We need a pipeline of work to assist in resource planning.
Let’s improve transparency about risk and returns
Partnerships are led from the front, not driven from the back: what I mean is, perhaps our industry could do with fewer lawyers. Litigation and trust often have an inverse relationship, the more contractual complexity and closedbook accounting, the less trust.
The physical work that needs to be done at the front is relatively straightforward, however, lawyers have a generalised tendency to over-complicate and take an absurdist approach to risk from the back.
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The cost and complexity of this, along with regulatory compliance associated with delivering projects is wasteful from a NZ industry productivity perspective.
Improved safety in design and environmental compliance, and greater value for money and overall performance can be achieved if contractors, designers, and planners are involved earlier on at the feasibility stage.
We must be willing to take calculated risks, but it shouldn’t all be lumped into the design and delivery consortia. This is the case, especially for the smaller suppliers that do not have the resources or insurance policies.
I’m sure all parties would prefer a cooperative or alliance model where there is provision for risk to be shared, margins are respected, and mutual success is the focus rather than an adversarial and litigious commercial environment. For this to happen, however, it relies on transparency and sharing of ideas and lessons learnt to improve and innovate.
Our infrastructure sector is dominated by small to medium subcontractors and suppliers that can’t afford the risks and potential losses from a single project. These operators are often established on family values, proudly focused on doing their work well and delivering excellent results for communities and clients. These are the positives we should focus on as a collective, not try to trip up one another for short-term gain.
If you meet the scope of the project, we should all be eligible to receive a profit – so why does it need to be awkward?
We all can win, if we work together
The foundation of any robust partnership includes mutual respect, transparency, and a common purpose.
An example of a successful project delivered under these principles was the design and construction of the new Taparahi bridge on State Highway 25A in the Coromandel. Under this joint-venture alliance, constructors (Fulton Hogan and McConnell Dowell); and consultants (Beca and Tonkin + Taylor) put aside their respective competitive rivalry to complete the project under budget and three months earlier than anticipated.
Collectively, the alliance took a mature approach to consenting and contractual negotiations to prioritise NZTA Waka Kotahi and ultimately the community’s needs instead of themselves as individual entities. Transparency and a common purpose drove efficiency through pragmatic supply chain management by using standard designs and pre-fabrication.
We shouldn’t have to rely on emergency situations to drive delivery efficiency for our critical infrastructure. We simply need to adopt innovative consenting, financing and delivery models centred around measurable impact and human values to achieve a step change in the quality of life for all Kiwis.
The question is – are we innovative enough to try something different.
If you wish to get in touch with Brad Tiller, email him at btiller@tonkintaylor.co.nz.
Lake Wānaka mapped in exquisite detail
NIWA scientists have mapped the whole of Lake Wānaka in incredible detail. This work was done to better understand its underwater structure and potential for earthquakes and tsunamis, after an active fault was discovered there three years ago.
NIWA marine geology technician Sam Davidson said they can now visualise the entire lakebed and its structures.
“Lake Wānaka is one of the most photographed locations in the country but until now its depths have remained a mystery. We discovered some really interesting features, including complex channel systems from the rivers that feed into it.
“We also saw dramatic steep slopes that plummet to the deepest parts of the lake. Wānaka sits in a U-shaped valley which was carved by an ancient glacier during the last ice age over 10,000 years ago; these features and the lake’s geological history came to life in front of our eyes.”
Sam and his team retrofitted a multibeam echosounder onto a small dive vessel, which they steered up and down the lake over several weeks.
It calculated the water depth by bouncing soundwaves off the lakebed at a rate of 10 per second and timing how long they took to return. From this data, NIWA have built a full 3D model of the entire area.
NIWA hydrodynamics scientist Dr David Plew is using the map to study the lake’s water quality.
“New Zealand has experienced dramatic changes in land use over the past century, which has had big impacts on our freshwater systems. Nutrient loads, the volume of water, and the amount of sediment going into Lake Wānaka have all been impacted. And climate change is also affecting our lakes and will do so even more in the future,” says David.
To predict how Lake Wānaka will change, NIWA are developing computer models of the catchment and lake. These need accurate bathymetry data, and up until now NIWA have been working from charts created in the 1970s.
“This new depth data that we’ve captured is more accurate and detailed. This is especially important in shallow parts of the lake like Roys Bay and Stevensons Inlet, but also where rivers flow into the lake, because these areas have seen some of the biggest impacts and changes since the 1970s,” says David.
NIWA’s work will also be used to study hazards from future seismic activity.
Lake Wānaka is at risk of experiencing a tsunami-like event due to its location on an active fault and its specific geological features, such
as those steep slopes that could create a landslide and pose a risk to lakefront communities.
“Now we have a clear picture of the lake’s structure, we can better inform hazard modellers and councils to better prepare for these events,” says Sam.
Otago Regional Council’s manager natural hazards, Dr Jean-Luc Payan, says the new data is invaluable to inform natural hazards investigations and to understand the consequences of natural hazards events on people and infrastructure in the Lake Wānaka area.
Article provided by NIWA
Top: 3D graphics of high-resolution bathymetry data retrieved from Wanaka lakebed mapping project. Above: Image showing extent of the mapped area. Inset: Close-up image of bathyemtry data for the southern part of Lake Wanaka.
Bringing stormwater into play
Project of the Year at the Stormwater Conference and Expo 2024, Te Pā Harakeke is an innovative integration of a recreational destination with stormwater management in a sensitive coastal environment.
Tāhunanui recreation reserve is situated adjacent to Tāhunanui beach in Nelson and includes a range of play spaces and sports fields. Te Pā Harakeke (historically called the Modellers’ Pond) is located on the Western side of the reserve.
This sensitive coastal project aimed to create a unique and resilient landscape in a space where recreation and stormwater infrastructure meet. The solution is innovative, with key infrastructure embedded into the design; ocean inundation is not only allowed but celebrated.
Adventure play is encouraged and embraces the dynamic nature of the coastal environment and develops a recreational space with a strong sense of place.
Te
A crucial issue with Modellers Pond grew out of the decision in 1998 to use the pond to receive pumped stormwater flow from the surrounding catchment. At the time, this was the lowest cost, most practical option. Over time, the concrete-walled pond became unusable as algae bloom increased, clogging the water to the point where extensive ongoing maintenance was required.
Above:
Pā Harakeke (historically called the Modellers’ Pond) is located on the Western side of the Tāhunanui recreation reserve.
The original Modellers’ Pond was constructed in the 1930s primarily for use by the local model boat enthusiasts society. A miniature railway was added in the 1960s, which remains a popular weekend activity for families.
A crucial issue with Modellers Pond grew out of the decision in 1998 to use the pond to receive pumped stormwater flow from the surrounding catchment. At the time, this was the lowest cost, most practical option.
Over time, the concrete-walled pond became unusable as algae bloom increased, clogging the water to the point where extensive ongoing maintenance was required.
However, there was an unresolved debate around whether these issues needed to be managed by the Council Utilities Asset team or the Council Reserves Asset team.
Nelson City Council explored options to retain the pond, with the dual intention of maintaining a recreational community asset and improving stormwater asset management.
A major objective was to provide separation of the stormwater from the recreational; this would allow for a clear distinction in the future management and operation of both. The final design essentially both separates and integrates a recreational asset and a stormwater asset.
Stantec’s engineering team and Boffa Miskell’s design team worked collaboratively to create a design that met the stormwater requirements while being sympathetic to the coastal landscape.
“We brainstormed and workshopped ideas for how the park design could achieve a strong environmental outcome that celebrates the coastal landscape,” says Boffa Miskell design lead Luke Porter.
“The concept phase explored how the infrastructure requirements of the Tāhunanui sub-catchment could be included in the design, how stormwater within the park could be dealt with, and how the park could respond to coastal inundation.”
The impacts of sea level rise and coastal erosion were assessed as part of the design process. It was felt that the Tahuna Beach Reserve is an ever-changing environment and that major structures should not be built with the expectation that they could not be threatened in the future.
“We prepared a range of 3D studies to explore the effects of tidal movements and sea level rise predictions. The levels of the park were designed responding to these current and future conditions,” says Stantec engineering lead Avik Halder.
“Inundation into the park from the coast occurs during king tide events during the year, and this is predicted to become more of a regular occurrence as sea levels rise.”
The final design for the outlet is engineering-led, however, a soft, organic approach to the shape of the form coincides with the natural feel of the coastal location and the overall design.
Stormwater discharge from the upstream pump station has been retained but flows are now treated before transfer through a contained planted stormwater discharge bund, with further cleansing through the natural estuarine planting before discharge to the back beach estuary. The design creates a spiral where the water slows before exiting.
Native planting is used throughout the outlet process, further filtering stormwater.
To create the recreational offering of Te Pā Harakeke, the old Modellers’ Pond was filled and contoured to allow the nearby
Site Inundation Exploration. Inundation into the park from the coast occurs during king tide events during the year, and this is predicted to become more of a regular occurrence as sea levels rise.
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A range of 3D studies to explore the effects of tidal movements and sea level rise predictions. The levels of the park were designed responding to these current and future conditions.
To find out more, visit hynds.co.nz/sustainability sustainability@hynds.co.nz
Waimea estuary to inundate into the park. Several times a month, the tide fully enters the park and fills estuary ‘fingers’ within the space.
Depending on tide levels, the playground area is never the same. At low tide there are sandy beach areas to play in and on high tides shallow water to splash in. The design retains a natural feel that is a point of difference to other playground areas.
Manufactured swings and slides are accounted for in other parts of Tāhunanui recreation reserve; Te Pā Harakeke provides a range of adventure play that promotes a deeper connection with the coastal landscape.
The project philosophy, particularly during construction, was to build the park in a manner that substantially minimised the negative impacts from construction and generated sustainable positive outcomes both environmentally and socially.
The minimal use of concrete throughout the park, reuse of fill material from a local sub-division, and reallocated topsoil considered as waste from other projects helped reduce waste to landfill.
Logs used to create adventure play elements were reclaimed from a council area where they had been removed due to safety concerns, and sand used within the park was reclaimed from a nearby carpark where the wind and waves had deposited it from the adjacent beach. Locally eco-sourced planting was used throughout.
During the draining of Modellers Pond, native fauna were captured and moved to safety. Over three days, almost 300 shortfin and endangered longfin eels living in the pond were rehomed to nearby healthy creeks and streams. New habitat has been created in the park including estuarine sandy mudflats and planted dunes.
The park has also produced new ecological spaces, including bird roosting posts and bug hotels to encourage birds and insects into the park.
A bird-watching tower is part of the design and a range of birds including heron, gulls, and ducks have all been spotted.
Local kaumātua gifted the name Te Pā Harakeke, a Māori whakatauki (proverbial saying) about the importance of family. This is symbolic of the area’s importance to families and the newly designed park’s purpose. Te Pā Harakeke not only provides a unique recreational asset for the community, but also improves stormwater quality discharge to the coastal environment.
The project’s philosophy demonstrates that stormwater infrastructure and public reserves can be thoughtfully designed together to provide something sustainable and beautiful for both the community and the environment.
The project team, collaborators, and stakeholders were Nelson City Council; Stantec; Boffa Miskell; Taylors Contracting; Nelmac; Ching Contracting; Hynds; and the Nelson Society of Modellers.
Article provided by Boffa Miskell.
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WATER NEW ZEALAND INFRASTRUCTURE
Main image: Watercare Central Interceptor site, Māngere.
Inset right: Work on the new Confluence Chamber progressing with live interceptors in the foreground and the treatment plant in the background.
Inset below: Graphic depicting an aerial view of the shaft showing the valve platform and pump risers which connect to twin rising mains.
Getting ready to flick the switch
Watercare is preparing for section one of the main tunnel to go live on its massive Central Interceptor project.
Of all the 600 staff working on the Central Interceptor project in Auckland, it’s the tunnellers who get most of the limelight. Afterall, construction of a 16.2-kilometre wastewater tunnel plus two link sewers running across a harbour and deep under a major city is rarely seen in New Zealand.
But at the Māngere Central Interceptor site, major new infrastructure is also going in. This includes an inlet shaft, a main pump station (divided into a wet and dry well), twin rising mains, and a confluence chamber (a large concrete structure which receives combined flows from the interceptors before they enter the plant for processing).
It must be all ready by the end of the year, when section one of the Central Interceptor tunnel from the May Road, Mt Roskill site south (plus Link Sewer C, which runs from Mt Roskill to Avondale) go live.
It’s a massive undertaking and the numbers are huge: the 25 metre diameter pump shaft is almost 40 metres deep.
At the bottom six German-engineered sewage pumps (two metres high) each send 1300 litres (or 1.3 tonnes) of wastewater per second from the wet-well through the DN1200 twin rising mains to the treatment plant. The 800 metre journey will take around 10 minutes. Huge valves isolate and control volumes according to weather events. The pump shaft will eventually handle around 130,000 cubic metres of daily flows once the entire Central Interceptor tunnel is up and running in 2026.
More than 90 mechanical gates will be installed at various points along the tunnel for isolation and to prevent the tunnel from over filling or balancing flows with the existing wastewater network. The 4.5 metre diameter tunnel was specifically designed to store as well as convey flows.
The Central Interceptor project will significantly reduce wetweather overflows into central streams and Waitematā beaches, providing a cleaner environment, a more resilient wastewater network and allowing for future population growth.
Staff jokingly call the Māngere site, ‘the beating heart of the project.’ for without this vital new infrastructure, the project (featuring New Zealand’s longest bored tunnel) is redundant.
And all this construction is made more complicated by the need to work around live interceptors, particularly the aging Western Interceptor, which carries 3600 litres of wastewater per second.
Watercare Central Interceptor programme director, David White says the Māngere site has undergone a major transformation since Hiwa-i-te-Rangi, the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), started her journey to central Auckland in August 2021.
“So much has changed, the tunnelling services have relocated to our May Road site, the former TBM launch shaft has become an inlet shaft, and the pump shaft has been divided into a dry and wet well with teams of electricians swarming over the site to power things up.
“There’s real pressure to get everything finished on time and safely, so that commissioning can begin, and we’ll be ready to run wastewater through section one of the tunnel before the end of the year.”
David has taken on the role of delivering the Central Interceptor project following Shayne Cunis’ appointment as Watercare’s new chief programme delivery officer. Some role shuffling has gone on within the rest of the project team too, with former Watercare pump station delivery manager, Chris Johnson ‘crossing the floor’ to join construction partner Ghella Abergeldie JV (GAJV) to help with commissioning. It’s an unusual move for staff to switch sides but is symptomatic of the close working relationship between Watercare and GAJV.
An Australian national, Chris has huge international construction experience, and this will be the third wastewater pump station he has built and commissioned.
“We had a bumpy start. The Covid-19 pandemic meant we saw supply delays, but once things settled down, work has continued at pace and we’re on track to finish construction in October.
“The commissioning phase is complicated and will be done in four stages, increasingly working alongside Watercare operations teams as we go. First, we will run water through it, before we finally go live and introduce wastewater.”
One of the biggest jobs involves installing new electrical and control infrastructure. Watercare Māngere Pump Station delivery manager, Ajesh Jeram explains that hundreds of metres of copper cabling is being laid to bring the heart of the project to life.
“The copper cables are as thick as your wrist and weigh as much as 10 kilos per metre. They are connecting the 11kV ring-main, the main 670kW pumps, control valves to the control room as well as ancillary systems such as lighting, ventilation, the gantry crane, elevator and fire protection systems.”
Four 1.5MVA back-up generators ensure the pump station can operate during a power blackout. The site has been isolated whilst electrical work takes place. It will be enlivened with high voltage power by the end of June and then a new set of rules for access and operating activity will apply.
Around 200 metres away, a concrete floor has been laid underneath the Western Interceptor. The aging pipe was suspended whilst excavation took place slowly and carefully around it. Next a large Emergency Pressure Relief culvert will be installed below.
Construction crews are finalising new diversion and confluence chambers, to re-route flows from three existing interceptors to allow room for the new Central Interceptor. Watercare wastewater transmission teams have spent three years planning shutdowns and diversions of Auckland’s wastewater network, to reduce flows by 90 percent to allow work to take place.
Gates have been installed so that in future, operators can re-route interceptors so essential repairs and maintenance can be carried out – something that hasn’t been possible before now.
Prime Minister Chris Luxon, Mayor Wayne Brown and Minister for Auckland Simeon Brown recently visited the Māngere site to make a major water reform announcement.
“They were very impressed and were genuinely interested,” says Chris Johnson.
In 2016, former London Mayor Boris Johnson switched on the Lee Tunnel, part of the UK’s Tideway super wastewater tunnel project by flushing a toilet. Who gets to flick the switch on the Central Interceptor project is still to be decided. Just finishing everything in time and getting it working effectively remains the strongest focus.
Article provided by Watercare
Far left: Central Interceptor construction crews with PM Chris Luxon, Mayor Wayne Brown PM and Minister Simeon Brown. Left: Careful excavation takes place underneath the suspended live Western Interceptor.
Looking after the small things
Everything about Watercare’s billion-dollar Central Interceptor project is big. But that doesn’t mean something as small as Fissidens berteroi, a nationally vulnerable moss species, discovered growing on rocks in a stream next to one of the construction sites, couldn’t be moved out of harm’s way.
Around 200 mossy rocks in Meola Creek were recently shifted further upstream, away from the Rawalpindi Reserve site in Mt Albert. The busy site contains a shaft marking the end point of one of the link sewers, which intersect the main Central Interceptor tunnel, but the narrow, steep sided stream meant the transplant operation couldn’t be done by digger. So, the project team did it the old way: forming a chain and shifting the mossy rocks by hand.
The call went out for volunteers and the response was amazing. Watercare Central Interceptor head of environment, Xenia Meier, says two rock lifting sessions were planned but only one was needed because they had so much help early on.
“Everyone got into the spirit of the occasion. The fact that we had total buy-in from the executive leadership made a real difference. Everyone understood the environmental value of what we were doing – and we had a lot of fun while we did it.”
The work was overseen by Ecology NZ freshwater senior ecologist Dylan Smith, who says Fissidens berteroi is a nationally vulnerable species found in just a handful of Auckland streams, as well as in the Manawatu region and the Chatham Islands.
According to Dylan, the moss has no legal protection but deserves to be cared for alongside any other native species.
“Moss, biofilm (slime), plants all provide cover for aquatic insects, food for fish, filtration – it’s a pretty critical role in our ecosystem.”
The rare moss isn’t the first native species to be relocated on the Central Interceptor project. Ghella Abergeldie JV social responsibility manager Sandra Edwards says there are clear protocols for dealing with New Zealand fauna and flora.
“We have relocated eels and skinks and have native planting programmes at various sites. Before we moved the moss, the new stretch of steam was carefully looked at to check the stream flow, depth of water, and how much light the moss would get.”
A second collection of mossy rocks was relocated in waterways at Auckland Botanic Gardens in the hope of starting a new colony there.
The Central Interceptor project will significantly reduce combined stormwater and wastewater discharges into waterways and beaches during heavy rain. This means Fissidens berteroi and its mossy mates will have a cleaner environment in which to thrive.
Article provided by Watercare
Left to Right: Xenia Meier, Dylan Smith and Sandra Edwards in Meola Creek, Mt Albert with rare moss. Inset: Central Interceptor rare moss.
It ’s live - online now
Check out our new online Water Director y. I t’s a fresh look and much improved online platform that has been in the development stage for some time.
We k now things change fast and we’re all seeki ng ways to get our work done more quickly and serv ices and suppliers you need will be a big help.
Better than google
Yes, there is google, but when you are looking for as many providers as possible in one place, it’s not
The new directory platform brings together a range of suppliers so you can compare and connect with part replacements.
Connect ing people across the sector is a key role for our organisation. organisation so we are delighted to bring you this updated resource.
Tell us what you think and be in to win a free registration to one of our major conferences – worth up to $1500!
Tell us what you think and be in to win a free registration to one of our major conferences – worth up to $1500!
Other benefits conversation that others can contribute to.
Other benefits conversation that others can contribute to.
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Tell us what yo registration conferences
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Be seen
For companies supplying products or ser vices to the water sector, this is a dedicated resource for you to
For companies supplying products or ser vices to the water sector, this is a dedicated resource for you to
For companies supplying produc
Water New Zealand has been bringing suppliers together for more than 30 years and we’re excited to launch this big step forw ard in our directory evolution.
Water New Zealand has been bringing suppliers together for more than 30 years and we’re excited to launch this big step forw ard in our directory evolution.
Water New Zealand has been launch this big step forw ard in
But don’ t just take our word for it, jump online and take a look
But don’ t just take our word for it, jump online and take a look
But don’ t just take our
Significantly reducing wastewater capex
Inflow and infiltration of excessive rainfall into separate wastewater systems produces peak flows and large volumes of wastewater. If these are not conveyed with sufficient capacity through reticulation, trunk and interceptor sewers, pump stations, and treatment plants can overflow these systems, causing environmental harm and increased public health risk, aside from cultural considerations of wastewater in the open environment.
By Steve Carne, principal/director at Taonga Water Advisory
Collection and treatment systems have traditionally been designed to convey these flows, with the adoption of peaking factors a common design tool to make this allowance for these additional flows.
Whilst the concept of practising demand management is well known and undertaken for water supply systems through pressure and leakage management techniques, the corollary for wastewater collection systems – infiltration/inflow (I/I) management – is far less advanced and accepted as a reliable demand management tool.
Water New Zealand has recognised this with its publication of the NZ I/I Control Manual in 1996, and the subsequent update of this document in its 2nd edition published in 2015.
The 2015 I/I Control Manual documents findings from before and after rehabilitation I/I reduction pilot projects in New Zealand, Australia and the USA. The consistency of these results across these jurisdictions enhances the reliability of likely I/I reduction levels achieved from different types and extents of system rehabilitation given in the manual.
Asset managers therefore now have reliable information on the likely outcomes of properly scoped and managed I/I reduction programmes, thereby giving a more reliable demand management tool for wastewater networks.
As is documented in the 2015 manual, it has been proven in Australia, New Zealand and the US in numerous pilot and real catchment I/I reduction studies, that approximately half the removable I/I in a wastewater collection
system enters through the privately-owned house service line (HSL), with the other half entering through the public sewers and manholes in the network.
There are a number of agencies in the US (at least seven known to the me, mostly in California), that have mandated testing and replacement or repair of house laterals through programmes in order to significantly reduce wastewater inflow and infiltration, so as to minimise capital expenditure on downstream assets and systems.
The most well-known of these programmes
is that carried out by the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), a trunk network wholesale agency that collects and treats wastewater from seven contributing collection retail agencies that serve an estimated population of approximately 600,000 people.
Located in Oakland in the greater San Francisco area in California, EBMUD was faced with the prospect of unaffordable system upgrade costs related to trunk conveyance and treatment infrastructure that would have been required to meet the
Sources of Inflow and infiltration can be many and varied on a particular property.
US EPA’s zero-discharge requirement for operating the network.
Their programme started in 2012 and now has 12 years of operational experience and outcome findings. Their programme is based on a series of triggers that requires homeowners to have their house lateral tested for leakiness, just like a warrant of fitness concept we are used to here for cars.
The triggers they have adopted and operated with for 12 years now include:
• The sale of the property;
• A sizeable renovation with capital value greater than $100,000 and;
• A request to change the water meter size.
The leakiness test is performed by a private plumbing contractor and witnessed by EBMUD inspectors using a positive pressure water or air test.
Failure of the test then requires the property owner to rectify the problem at their own cost. Upon rectification, the lateral is then re-tested with the intention it has met the requirements of the leakiness test.
A house sale cannot proceed without the necessary certification, or ‘warrant of fitness’.
As shown here, a smoke testing programme is likely to confirm defective house laterals that are sources of both inflow and infiltration.
Costs for such a testing and rehabilitation/ replacement in the EBMUD programme are being borne 100 percent by the homeowners as part of their normal house changeover costs or property redevelopment costs.
In Aotearoa New Zealand, the cost of a lateral replacement or rehabilitation, including associated testing, are likely to be only a fraction of a real estate agents fees but slightly more than a conveyancing lawyer’s fees in a normal house sale process. They are only a small proportion of a typical major house renovation cost or a developer’s overall costs.
On average, it is understood that houses in New Zealand change ownership every 1012 years. The rate of property subdivision, which the renovation trigger is designed to pick up, is increasing rapidly too so similar circumstances and triggers are valid here.
Theoretically, such a mandated HSL programme implemented here therefore has the potential to remove approximately half the removeable I/I in the system over a 10-12 year period at minimal cost to the governing council or water agency, other than the associated administration costs. EBMUD has estimated these administration costs at no more than $500 per property.
The potential for significant reduction in
costs associated with proposed downstream capex spending due to such a programme’s likely outputs of at least a 30-40 percent of total I/I reduction in the system is significant.
This is particularly the case where a major wastewater treatment plant consent renewal is required or where meeting a consented overflow discharge containment standard through network upgrade works are likely to be significant.
Furthermore removing excess flows in the system frees up available system capacity to cater for growth projections in the network.
EBMUD has measured and assessed a 30 percent reduction in wastewater wet weather flows as a result of their programme’s implementation, resulting in significant savings in downstream capital works.
The learnings from the programmes in California that need to be localised or adapted to enable further consideration of the implementation of any such programme anywhere in New Zealand are:
• The long-term public education programme required for community acceptance.
• The political appetite for placing further costs on homeowners.
• Enforcement, follow-up and close-out
requirements when a lateral repair/ replacement is required.
• Responsibility for shared laterals.
• Subsidy programmes support for low income earners.
• Programme exemptions for charities and/ or public sector landlords.
• Legislative and regulatory changes that are required to legally mandate such a programme.
• On-boarding other stakeholders in the housing industry such as conveyancing lawyers and real estate agencies and also home builders and renovators to educate them on the needs of the programme and the important roles they play in its successful implementation.
• The ability of the industry to respond to the new and increased demand for house lateral repair and rehabilitation technologies.
The potential for significant capex reduction at such low investment cost for the council/water agency is considered a primary driver for such a programme. Solutions suitable for implementation in New Zealand would need to be tailored for the needs and circumstances of individual councils/water agencies.
RETHINK
WATER, WASTEWATER AND BIOENERGY
The challenge of managing water resources and advancing clean energy production has become paramount in the business world today. At Hydroflux, our commitment to rethinking is ingrained in our DNA because we recognise that each challenge is unique. Whether you’re a local municipality, a global manufacturer, or anything in between, we’re driving sustainable change – now. Specialising in water, wastewater, renewable energy, climate resilience and environmental protection, Hydroflux provides a vast range of certified carbon-neutral products and services to help solve some of your most complex challenges.
With tailored solutions, ongoing support and a commitment to measurable results, Hydroflux is rethinking what’s possible to build a better future.
Sharing water loss insights and innovations
Richard Taylor of Thomas Consultants attended WaterLoss2024, the International Water Association’s Water Loss Specialist Group’s two-yearly conference. The sold-out event was held in San Sebastián in Spain in April, with 620 attendees from 50 countries. This is his report of the event.
At the conference, I presented on the recent update of the Water New Zealand Water Loss Guidelines, which I joint-authored, and chaired session at the conference. My presentation was well received, with several people downloading the overview document from the Water New Zealand website.
Among the most intriguing developments discussed at the conference were:
A focus on climate change
There was a thought-provoking discussion where a panel of industry experts shared ideas, concepts and case studies, and the latest findings on how water loss reduction projects can effectively leverage climate finance and contribute to climate resilience and mitigation effects.
Water suppliers can now create ‘carbon water balances’ to assess their footprint. These balances consider the carbon generated during production and distribution, with the source of power being a key factor in the calculations.
Fibre optics
The conference highlighted the potential of fibre optic cables for leak detection. I learned that a single fibre, incredibly sensitive to sound vibrations, can act as a linear sensor for up to 100 kilometres when paired with an interrogator unit.
Installation options include embedding the fibre within the watermain (with valve bypasses), placing it alongside the pipe, or even utilising existing telecommunication cables running near water infrastructure.
The presentation offered a fascinating real-world example: Israel has been using this technology for years to detect tunnel excavations beneath the Gaza wall.
There was discussion about potentially replacing or supplementing traditional tracer wire laid with new watermains, due to the low cost and superior sensing capabilities of optic fibre.
Smart water meters and water loss monitoring
There were numerous presentations on the use of data from both ‘smart’ mechanical meters (i.e. meters with a pulse unit and with data transmission) and from smart static meters (the name used for ‘non-mechanical’ meters, i.e. static meters comprise ultrasonic and magnetic flow meters which have no moving parts). This included reporting a ‘daily water balance’ to monitor ‘real losses’ rather than monitoring minimum night flows (MNFs) which includes all private water use at night (both legitimate use and private leaks).
The ‘daily water balance’ excludes private water use as this can
Richard Taylor of Thomas Consultants attended WaterLoss2024
be accounted for using data from all of the customer smart meters. Hence leak detection efforts can be better focused on leakage solely from the public network.
Artificial intelligence
Multiple presentations focused on data use from network monitoring meters, smart (customer) metering, acoustic monitoring, high-rate pressure logging etc., and using this information in combination with real time network models to identify leaks, pressure fluctuations, damaging pressure transients, and unusual water use patterns etc.
Singapore's Public Utilities Board (PUB) is embarking on an exciting new project involving all of the above.
Pia Box from the Netherlands
The Pia Box metering unit combines an ultrasonic meter, pressure sensor, acoustic monitor, and controllable valve, and offers leak detection capabilities covering both private plumbing and the nearby public water supply network.
Besides providing flow and water use information near realtime, the valve at the meter can be controlled remotely to restrict water use during emergencies, which is an innovative feature.
There was a very positive and collegial atmosphere at the conference. The challenges faced by water suppliers in managing water loss and Non-Revenue Water (NRW) are common worldwide. Attendees and exhibitors shared valuable insights, sparking productive discussions.
I took the opportunity to invite several key people to contribute to the upcoming New Zealand Water Loss Training event in Auckland next February.
Sorting water disputes
Utilities Disputes (UDL) is a free and independent consumer dispute resolution service, that operates voluntary water complaint schemes for water providers.
The voluntary water scheme offers consumers a free and fast alternative to the courts and tribunal systems, while providers get access to an independent third party that delivers consistent and fair outcomes. This is especially helpful for challenging complaints, where the customer and provider can struggle to find a resolution.
UDL works with both parties to get an idea of what’s gone wrong, and what would resolve it. They help both parties share their views, engage in constructive conversation, and reach a fair outcome. This involves talking to both sides, considering relevant standards and good industry practice, and consulting water sector experts when needed.
UDL can also identify any suspected systemic issues raised in the complaint. These are issues that could be affecting more customers. When a potential systemic issue is identified, they will let the provider know and work with them to resolve the problem.
If the customer and provider cannot agree on a resolution, the UDL commissioner can issue a decision on what we consider a fair outcome. In cases where the provider is not at fault, this usually means they will look to close the complaint with no further action. If the provider is considered responsible, this is typically reimbursement for incurred costs.
If the complainant accepts a decision, it becomes binding on the provider. If they don’t, the complaint is closed.
UDL has operated voluntary water schemes since 2018, now covering over two million people throughout the country, spread over more than 500,000 households.
A member of the complaints team of one water provider recently commented, “the complaint resolution process Utilities Disputes offers is an efficient model that allows for escalation and case management of complex issues – we’ve found it a well-rounded scheme that aligns with our commitment to delivering on our customer promise.
“We appreciate their timely communications, willingness to learn about the water industry, and thorough investigations”.
Case study: The blocked drain
Peter’s property was flooded by raw sewage after blockage in a nearby wastewater pipe caused an overflow.
He told his local council, who took several days to tell their contracted asset management company, Metro Water. In the meantime, Peter hired an emergency plumber to repair the fault.
Once Metro Water became aware of the issue, it disinfected the area at the back of Peter’s property.
Peter complained to Metro Water about the blockage and damage to his property. Metro Water offered to reimburse the $500 he paid to his plumber. Peter rejected the offer, requesting an extra $2000 compensation for property damage.
Customer service complaints are most common in our water scheme, making up almost 50 percent of all complaints. With our help, most complaints end with agreement between the parties – with less than 10 percent needing investigation.
Metro Water rejected Peter’s reimbursement request and advised him to contact his insurance company.
Peter remained unhappy and complained to UDL.
UDL investigated Peter’s complaint, focusing on Metro Water’s response to the blockage.
The investigation confirmed the council did not inform Metro Water about the blockage before the plumber had addressed the issue. Metro Water was therefore not responsible for the delay in repairing the fault.
UDL confirmed it was appropriate for Metro Water to reimburse Peter’s plumber’s costs. It also confirmed Metro Water’s decision to pay the plumbing and disinfect Peter’s property was not an acceptance of liability.
UDL was ultimately satisfied Metro Water had acted within an appropriate timeframe and responded to the leak in a reasonable way and Peter’s claim for additional compensation was declined.
Case study: The invisible leak
Clara received a letter from her local water company, River Waters, saying the water connection point (‘toby’) to her house had a leak. The letter warned Clara it was her responsibility to have this repaired under local council bylaws.
Clara brought in a plumber to repair the leak. After investigating the toby, the plumber was satisfied that there was no leak.
A few weeks later River Waters sent another letter, once again saying they had identified a leak from her toby. The letter stated Clara may be fined and have her water restricted for her failure to repair the leak.
Clara brought her plumber back for a more thorough examination, which included breaking surrounding concrete and replacing part of the toby. The plumber again confirmed there was no leak. It turned out Clara’s neighbour had a leak that was flowing into Clara’s stormwater.
Clara submitted a complaint and asked River Water to reimburse her plumber’s costs. River Water rejected her request and said it was a civil matter.
Clara complained to UDL.
UDL looked at the applicable guidelines and policies that apply. River Waters' letters should have been better worded when referencing legislation, particularly when setting out who was responsible for the leak and commenting on a potential offence under the bylaws. Clara, understandably, took the letters seriously and found their tone and content distressing.
The letters also confirmed Clara was responsible for the leak when this was not the case, prompting her to incur significant costs. The letters fell short of accepted and good practice.
UDL recommended that River Waters reimburse Clara’s plumber’s costs which River Waters and Clara accepted. UDL also provided guidance on how River Waters could improve its communications in letters to consumers which was positively received.
UDL provided this guidance while acknowledging the important role such letters have in making the public aware of private leaks.
Names and details have been changed for privacy reasons.
Article provided by Utilities Disputes.
Visit us at the Water NZ Conference, 25th-27th September. Stand 151-153
The ENDURANCE series features DEFENDER®
A smart device designed tested and patented by Caprari to protect the electric pumps from electrochemical corrosion and galvanic currents. Passivating the stainless steel so as to create a further safety barrier.
Legal update
By Helen Atkins
This article looks at what is proposed for the reform of the Resource Management Act and related matters. In my article in the next edition, I will comment on two recent cases regarding diffuse discharges into freshwater.
Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill
Water New Zealand held a webinar on the recently-introduced Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The organisation did a submission on the Bill and this is available on the website. The submission was generally in support of the Bill but made some specific points on some issues.
This article does not comment on this Bill; suffice to say that it establishes preliminary arrangements for local government water services delivery. It is an omnibus Bill that amends other Acts. The broad policy for the Bill is to lay the foundation for a new framework of water services management and financially sustainable delivery models that meet regulatory standards, including a new water services delivery arrangement for Auckland (as was announced in May).
RMA Amendment Bill
The Government recently announced a new Resource Management (Freshwater and Other Matters) Amendment Bill and this was introduced to Parliament in May. The closing date for submissions was 30 June.
The Bill includes changes to make it clear that resource consent applicants no longer need to demonstrate their proposed activities follow the Te Mana o te Wai hierarchy of obligations, as set out in the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM).
It also:
• Amends stock exclusion regulations in relation to sloped land.
• Repeals intensive winter grazing regulations.
• Aligns the consenting pathway for coal mining with the pathway for other mining activities in the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity (NPS-IB), NPS-FM, and the National Environmental Standards for Freshwater (NES-F).
• Suspends the requirement for councils to identify new Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) in accordance with the NPS-IB for three years, to give enough time for a thorough review of how they operate.
• Speeds up the process to develop or amend national direction, such as national policy statements and national environmental standards.
The Bill comes with controversy (as did the Fast-track Approvals Bill). The Environmental Defence Society (EDS) has not held back on its criticism and has stated: “Another attack by Government on our environment comes in the guise of the Resource Management (Freshwater and Other Matters) Amendment Bill. It winds back important protections for freshwater and indigenous biodiversity in several regulatory instruments, pending their full replacement.”
In relation to the proposed changes to the process for preparing and amending national direction, EDS has this to say:
“On the last point, the process for making changes to national direction has been placed directly in ministers’ hands, with independent Boards of Inquiry being written out of the statute. This represents further consolidation of power in ministers without sufficient checks and balances.”
The Government notes (on the Parliament website) that the Bill aims to reduce regulatory burden by amending the RMA to change resource consent processes, local authority obligations, and stock exclusion regulations.
We can expect a similar level of submissions in terms of the volume and tone that were received in relation to the Fasttrack Approvals Bill.
Fast-track Approvals Bill
Submissions on the Bill closed on 19 April. Applications to list projects in Schedule 2 of the Bill closed on 3 May.
An Advisory Group, that will make recommendations on which projects may be included in the Bill, was announced by the Government on 10 April and consists of David Tapsell, Rosie Mercer, Vaughan Wilkinson,
David Hunt, Mark Davey and Murray Parrish. For more details on these members, go to beehive.govt.nz/release/new-fast-trackprojects-advisory-group-named
The hearings on the Bill are still ongoing and as yet there is no due date for when the Bill will be reported back from the Environment (Select) Committee.
National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management and other regulations
As noted in the April article, the Government was planning to clarify how Te Mana o te Wai hierarchy of obligations in the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPSFM) is applied to resource consent applications and decisions. In essence, the aim is to ensure resource consent applicants do not have to demonstrate how their activity adheres to the hierarchy and remove the hierarchy from council’s decision-making for consents.
The RMA Amendment Bill excludes the hierarchy of obligations within the NPS-FM 2020 from resource consent application and decision-making processes by precluding:
• Resource consent applicants from including an assessment against clause 1.3(5) or 2.1 of the NPS-FM 2020 in applications for resource consent;
• Consent authorities from requesting information from consent applicants or commissioning reports on clause 1.3(5) or 2.1 of the NPS-FM 2020;
• Consent authorities from having regard to clause 1.3(5) or 2.1 of the NPS-FM 2020 when considering resource consent applications.
The Bill limits the application of this proposal to resource consent applications lodged after commencement of the Bill. In addition, the Bill requires the Minister for the Environment to make a recommendation to the GovernorGeneral to repeal this proposal by Order in Council when recommending the approval of a new national policy statement for freshwater management to replace the NPS-FM 2020.
Of note is that this process has been signalled for some time. In December 2023, the Government announced it would review and replace the NPS-FM. Therefore, it is clear that the Bill measures are temporary and may apply only while this process is underway.
The review process is expected to take approximately 18 to 24 months and this is still the timeline cited even as the months go by. As previously noted, the Government extended the deadline for councils to notify draft freshwater
Helen Atkins, barrister/commissioner
plans by three years, from 2024 until 2027, to avoid duplication and compliance costs for councils.
Freshwater Farm Plan changes
The Government has announced it intends to change the freshwater farm plan system to make it more cost effective and practical. The changes are intended to enable farmers and growers to find the right solutions for their farm and catchment, and to make sure the time and cost of completing a farm plan matches the level of risk.
Farm plans can be used to identify environmental risks and plan actions to manage those risks, considering property and catchment factors.
The freshwater farm plan system needs to be a trusted and robust alternative to local rules and resource consents, where appropriate.
There is also work underway to integrate existing farm environment or industry assurance plans into the freshwater farm plan system, as well as the certification and auditing requirements of the system. In the areas where the freshwater farm plan rollout has started, which has expanded beyond Southland and Waikato to include parts of Otago, the West Coast and Manawatū-Whanganui, the Government may look at whether current
requirements to complete a freshwater farm plan could be paused while improvements are developed.
Going for Housing Growth
The Government is providing opportunities for housing development via Going for Housing Growth – a joint work programme between the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and the Ministry for the Environment.
The two ministries are working on policy details and providing advice to ministers which aims to strike a balance between zoning for housing growth and the flexibility for councils to decide how that growth happens. There will likely be other changes as legislation gets designed.
Some councils have already completed changes to have the Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS) in their plans. If councils want to remove these standards, they will need to show they have enough housing capacity for 30 years (as per the Housing Growth targets).
The Government also wants to extend the National Policy Statement for Urban
Development to encourage density and an increased mix of residential and business activities in some places, such as homes above shops and restaurants. To help increase greenfield land availability, the National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land is being reviewed as previously noted.
Climate update: the second Emissions Reduction Plan
Work is underway to develop the second Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP2), which must be produced by the end of 2024.
The plan will set out actions needed to reduce emissions to meet the second emissions budget for the years 2026–2030. We note that this budget is also one of the nine recently announced Government targets.
The success of this plan will depend on all New Zealanders playing their part to reduce emissions; the private sector, local government, iwi and Māori, households and individuals will all have a role to play.
The Government will be seeking feedback from a range of voices and perspectives as part of this process including public consultation in the middle of the year.
Water recycling: What are we waiting for?
New Zealand’s precious water resources are finite, with a growing need for action to conserve and manage our water supply. By learning from international practices in recycled water use, we can develop customised standards for New Zealand’s unique needs to effectively manage our water supply into the future. By Liz Roder, John Crawford, and Garry Macdonald of Beca
Until recently, there has been a perception by New Zealanders that water resources are inexhaustible. As climate change impacts and drought scenarios are better understood and communicated, there has been a rise in both social anxiety regarding water supplies and a drive for water resource protection.
Diversity of water supplies is critical to protect against climate change uncertainties and ensure long term total catchment resilience. Sustainable resource use drivers increase the need for energy-efficient alternatives to seawater desalination and transporting water over long distances, especially as freshwater resource reliability diminishes.
With the repeal of Three Waters and proposed transition to Local Water Done Well, there are both risks and opportunities across the water sector.
Water New Zealand’s Towards 2050 –Transformation vision for the sector – developed with the community and the broader water industry – is a powerful strategic foundation for regulatory and planning reform.
It is underpinned by a vision for Te Mana o te Wai, community, culture and sustainability, including a holistic approach to water management, and environmental and natural resource protection, to support thriving ecosystems, mahinga kai (working the natural resource), and societal well-being.
Addressing water scarcity effectively involves optimising wastewater as a dependable, predictable resource, alongside water recycling strategies to minimise discharges into and protect our water bodies.
Water recycling is already happening here, but it isn’t always simple.
Water recycling is emerging in Aotearoa New Zealand as demands grow for alternative, climate-resilient supplies. However, socioeconomic drivers, institutional arrangements, and regulatory frameworks and standards are not yet embedded across the sector, and the
implementation of formalised recycled water schemes remains rudimentary.
Whilst various international guidelines are voluntarily used here, there are disparate approaches to quality controls and management. The lack of a national standard creates inconsistencies and challenges for practitioners. Councils and customers are reliant upon their own research and discipline to establish workable arrangements for investment and operation of schemes.
Further, while compliance with technical standards and consent conditions can be achieved, improved rigour is needed in ongoing compliance monitoring to ensure performance requirements are met, long after commissioning is complete.
How can water recycling become a prominent part of our sustainable future?
The definition, documentation, and implementation of water recycling guidelines and standards would enable a structured facilitation of alternative water supplies for a wide range of uses, through improved planning, delivery and management efficiencies, standardisation and consistency, and better cost certainties.
Opportunities for water recycling across Aotearoa New Zealand include industrial (e.g. cleaning/wash-down and processes), irrigation (e.g. public spaces/green belts, agriculture, horticulture, viticulture, animal fodder, non-food crops), supplementing and balancing stormwater flows, and environmental management (e.g. salinity management, drought-proofing vulnerable waterways, aquifer injection).
Advanced technologies could even enable qualities suitable for potable consumption and ultra-high purity industrial water (e.g. demineralised water applications).
Progression towards sustainable institutional reform for recycled water planning, design and management is underpinned by several key elements:
Learning together: Through connection, collaboration and partnership with our communities, iwi, local and international experts, we can develop recycled water standards tailored for Aotearoa New Zealand while utilising industry knowledge and standards from around the world. The consultation, communication, and education strategy are vital, as well as the importance of acknowledging, understanding and responding appropriately to the risks and concerns raised by Kiwis.
Learning from experience: We can build on the extensive experience, research, and knowledge from other water recycling initiatives across the globe, including successes but also lessons learned, risks that materialised, and solutions developed. Examples of successful documentation include the Australian Guidelines for Water Recycling, the Victorian guideline for water recycling, and the California Code of Regulations.
Nationwide alignment on regulation, adaptable to local conditions: Consistency is critical for quality control and public health. National standards and guidelines would also create efficiencies, optimisation of resources, and prevent isolated approaches being used.
Flexibility will be needed too, however, to ensure planning and consents can be adapted to local environmental conditions, cultural aspects and usage requirements.
Strong leadership, a clear definition of roles and responsibilities, and effective nation-wide coordination will be required to ensure an aligned approach.
Other documentation may also be created to supplement recycled water quality standards, including pricing policy and investment decision support tools (integrated with wastewater investment planning); standardised Recycled Water Management Plans for operational risk management; guidelines to support capacity building in planning, design and operations; and bespoke frameworks aligned to Te Mana o te Wai, to ensure cultural values are embedded into wastewater and recycled water planning and management.
In water management, today’s decisions shape tomorrow’s reality. At Spark IoT, we recognise the critical role that technology plays in ensuring the vitality of our water resources for generations to come. Discover what is possible with Spark IoT Chat to an IoT expert iot@spark.co.nz
Keeping our heads (and infrastructure) above water
Climate change is significantly affecting how we safely transport wastewater. With limited funding, how do we prioritise our efforts to reduce risks and protect critical infrastructure against increasingly intense and frequent storms and rising sea levels?
By Lenna Quackenbush, water engineer, GHD.
Recently, I had the opportunity to collaborate with a coastal community in the US with over 85 kilometres of coastline. Due to its unique coastal geography, this area faces a strong likelihood of severe flooding, potentially reaching up to 6.5 metres above sea level. As sea levels continue to rise due to climate change, many residents find themselves in a vulnerable position, especially considering the one percent annual flood chance (referred to as the base flood in this article).
While this scenario could describe numerous areas around Aotearoa New Zealand, this example is from my experience working on a project in the Town of Wareham, a low-lying coastal community in southeastern Massachusetts, with a population of approximately 20,000.
Although in a different country, the approach to evaluate and prioritise both the risks and mitigation measures can be universally applied.
The US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) produces flood maps that identify zones with a one percent base flood and a 0.02 percent annual chance of flooding. These maps are periodically updated based on the latest flood projection models.
In many coastal communities, wastewater infrastructure that was once considered safe is now anticipated to be at risk due to updated flood projections. Additionally, projections for sea level rise are expected to heighten flood risks in future years.
Wareham is nestled around the coastal estuaries of Buzzards Bay, which creates several throttling points where strong waves are anticipated to develop from Atlantic Ocean storms. Wareham’s wastewater infrastructure, typically located at the lowest elevations, is especially at risk under the most recent base flood projections.
To assess the status of vulnerable coastal wastewater infrastructure, it’s important to first determine the safe elevation for these facilities, known as the Design Flood Elevation (DFE). The DFE is based on a number of factors, including the base flood elevation, a required minimum freeboard and other factors such as projected sea level rise, as reflected in figure 1.
Most of Wareham’s pump stations are situated in areas vulnerable to base floods, with risks heightened by inundation and exacerbated by anticipated sea level rise due to climate change. Out of the town’s 43 pump stations, 29 are located within Flood Hazard Areas.
Additionally, the infrastructure and multiple pump stations outside of these flood zones rely on vulnerable stations to transport wastewater to the Wastewater Treatment Facility. Many of these outlying pump stations route wastewater through up to four other pump stations, many of which are in the vulnerable zones.
The anticipated impacts from the base flood ranged from minimal damage to inundation, which could render a pump station inoperable. With so many pump stations in vulnerable positions, a pragmatic prioritisation methodology needed to be developed.
A Risk and Vulnerability Assessment was developed using the risk and consequence approach outlined in ‘Risk Analysis and Management for Critical Asset Protection’ (RAMCAP), a document commonly referred to as J-100.
Flood risk is calculated for each pump station based on the expected monetary total loss for vulnerable infrastructure for both Wareham and its residents.
J-100 defines flood risk as a combination of two factors: The likelihood of a specific natural disaster and the total estimated loss that can be anticipated from the disaster. While determining the likelihood is reasonably simple, being equivalent to the base flood, the calculation of loss involves a more complex process.
J-100 defines total loss as the “sum of repair and replacement costs and losses due to lost production capability and other first effects”.
Due to the lack of readily available data, we couldn’t proceed with the complex and costly modelling required by the Hazards United States (HAZUS) process. Instead, we opted for a Benefit Cost
The DFE is based on a number of factors, including the base flood elevation, a required minimum freeboard and other factors such as projected sea level rise
Figure 1.
Figure 2.
A list of proposed mitigation measures with a budget allowance allocated
Analysis (BCA) using the BCA 5.1 software, produced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The following are some of the key assumptions made for wastewater infrastructure in a base flood event:
• Once flood water has entered the base floor of the structure, all electrical components are at risk. Specifically, for pump stations with wet/dry well configurations, the pumps are vulnerable to damage.
• The project examined whether existing structures were designed to withstand the hydrostatic pressure from flooding; for unreinforced masonry walls it was assumed that if the flood depth was greater than 75 cm the integrity of the structure would be compromised.
• For stations positioned downstream from important facilities like fire departments, police stations, or hospitals, it was assumed that these essential services would face operational challenges if the wastewater services were disrupted.
• The monthly displacement costs were estimated for each pump station. This takes into account the number of people dependent on that pump station and all sewer sheds upstream that would be affected if the pump station was not operational.
A list of proposed mitigation measures was then compiled (figure 2), with a budget allowance allocated to each:
Anticipated costs to Wareham included the replacement of damaged or destroyed equipment and loss of essential services (such as hospitals, police stations, or fire department services) while the station is inoperable. Costs facing residents include impact to natural resources, relocation costs during sewer service disruptions, and the expenses incurred during clean-up efforts.
The Vulnerability Assessment provided Wareham with an approach to prioritise numerous projects aimed at increasing coastal resilience. As a result, Wareham has embarked on resilience upgrades for three of its most vulnerable stations – each serving essential services.
These upgrades include raising exterior entry points above the DFE, installing an internal structural steel bracing system to shore up walls, using carbon fibre to structurally enhance reinforced masonry, installing flood proof doors and flood planks, relocating vulnerable portions of the infrastructure and installing bypass connections at the stations.
Conducting a ‘Risk and Vulnerability Assessment’ was an important step in helping Wareham determine which coastal resilience projects to tackle first amidst a sea of pressing wastewater infrastructure needs. This case study serves as an example of how communities, both in the US and Aotearoa New Zealand, can assess risks and prioritise mitigation strategies.
Despite limited budgets and numerous priorities, a cost-effective and practical approach can significantly enhance the protection of critical wastewater infrastructure against the escalating threats posed by more severe and frequent storms and rising sea levels.
Lenna Quackenbush received the Emerging Professional Best Paper award at the 2024 Āpōpō (Infrastructure Asset Management Professionals) Congress for her presentation on ‘Keeping our Heads (and Infrastructure) Above Water: Learnings from the US’. Lenna is a chemical engineer, originally from Massachusetts in the US, now working in GHD’s Hamilton o ce.
Antimicrobial Crystalline Technology
Embedding a sustainability approach to maximise project success
Local government vision, outcomes and strategic priorities are very much aligned to the definition of sustainability. Local government project managers have the complex challenge of working with a multitude of demanding stakeholders to ensure that the project’s success criteria are met, and the required benefits and value are delivered. The CCSD (Climate Change and Sustainable Development) PM Toolkit, developed by the Project Management Institute of New Zealand (PMINZ) and Christchurch City Council project managers, is a comprehensive guide to implementing sustainable management practices which support this pursuit. To illustrate the critical role of sustainability in local government projects, this paper looks at the Ben Rarere Water Supply Pump Station project. By Prawindra Mukhia.
Several years ago, I managed a water pump station project (Project A) at Christchurch City Council which I considered a success. It met the scope, time, cost and quality requirements. The dry test run went perfectly well. But during online testing, it failed to boost the water supply into the network. We discovered the operating water pressure in the zone had been changed. Fortunately, we were able to rectify this issue quickly by adding a larger motor.
This incident highlighted how project success may not necessarily provide the required benefits. Conversely, benefits could be attained from the project although it may have failed to meet the scope, time, cost and quality criteria.
Experiences like this made me question if there was a better way to reduce risks. For a new water supply pump station (Project B), completed in late 2022, we applied the lessons learnt, embraced system thinking and incorporated a sustainability approach. This experience inspired the development of the CCSD Toolkit, designed to maximise project success and deliver lasting value.
In this paper, I have used Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle rule to explain the why, how and what of the importance of integrating sustainability into the council project management framework.
The why
The most widely accepted definition of sustainability comes from the 1987 Brundtland Commission: “Meeting present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs”. For businesses, it is the integration of sustainability in their mission, long-term strategy, processes, and execution to include strong balance among social, ethical, environmental and economic ideals, goals and results.
The outcomes of our local council are closely aligned with sustainability. For example, Christchurch City Council’s (CCC) outcomes for 2024-2034 include ‘a collaborative, confident city’, which aligns with social impacts, ‘a green, liveable city’, with environmental impacts, and ‘a thriving, prosperous city’ with economic impacts.
Similarly, CCC’s strategic priority for the council’s term (2022-2025) is sustainability focused, ‘be an inclusive and equitable city’ (social focus), reduce emissions (environmental focus) and ‘actively balance the needs of today’s residents with the needs of the future generations, with the aim of leaving no one behind’ is the very definition of sustainability.
This clear alignment between council’s
outcomes and strategic priorities and sustainability, makes it evident that using sustainable management practices within councils is essential.
All of the council’s activities aligned with these outcomes and strategic priorities are delivered through projects. So, how can we, as project managers, ensure we are delivering value?
The how
Use the CCSD Toolkit.
In August 2021, a group of PMINZ members received funding from CCC to develop a sustainable project management toolkit, which, with the involvement of CCC project managers, they completed in November 2023.
The result of this effort is the CCSD Project Manager’s Toolkit.
The toolkit emphasises the importance of having a robust business case, a requirements register and a tracker. It seamlessly integrates sustainability requirements within the existing project management framework.
During the development of the toolkit, we discovered Green Project Management (GPM), a social enterprise based in the United States that works in sustainability all over the world. Their P5 Impact Assessment (P5IA) sits at the heart of the toolkit.
The P5 Ontology.
project’s activities (including the product and project governance decisions), the results and outcomes have on people, the planet and prosperity. These impacts can then be mitigated to either enhance positive effects or reduce negative ones.
The toolkit provides:
• A framework to analyse project impacts on climate change risks and sustainability initiatives;
• A methodology to set KPIs;
• Useful tools and templates for project implementation and tracking;
• Background information on climate change impacts;
• An understanding of the linkages between global and New Zealand-wide policies and Council’s sustainability framework;
• Learnings from PMI (PMBOK & The Standard of Program Management) and GPM P5 Standard for Sustainability in Project Management; and
• A comprehensive suite of relevant climate change tools, guidance and policies.
The what
The Ben Rarere Pump Station (Project B) was completed in late 2022. The pump station was delivered within budget. In
May 2024, I visited the pump station with an operations staff member who expressed satisfaction with its capability. While the full benefits will be realised over time, it has already demonstrated significant value.
I retrospectively applied the toolkit’s GPM P5 impact assessment to analyse the factors contributing to the project’s success. This includes examining the social, environmental and economic impacts of the pump station from both a lifespan and servicing perspective.
Additionally, I have assessed the project governance in terms of efficiency, effectiveness and fairness.
We increased the positive social impact by leveraging the lessons learnt at the start of the project, particularly by creating a robust requirements register and tracker.
Stakeholder engagement was extensive. Community involvement led to the incorporation of Māori architectural design elements, such as the tuku tuku patterns on the tanks and fence.
Involving the operations staff throughout the project allowed us to integrate their requirements, ensuring robust security and a familiar functional layout consistent with the other 61 pump stations.
Planet impact
We placed special emphasis on environmental aspects. System thinking helped us reduce the water pressure requirements and eliminate standby equipment (third pump and generator).
These measures significantly lowered the whole-of-life carbon footprint, which is estimated to account for around 93 percent of the total carbon emissions. We adopted biofiltration measures for stormwater management and, more importantly, we ensured future-proofing for new wells, water treatment equipment and solar energy installations.
Prosperity impact
The economic assessment was perhaps the most time-consuming but yielded the greatest value.
Through a robust multi-criteria option analysis, we determined the optimal location for the pump station. We conducted sustainability workshops to address resilience against earthquakes and climate change impacts. A life-cycle benefit cost analysis was performed, considering the carbon footprint.
The intensive work, during the concept
and design phases, helped minimise the cost increases during construction. Although a sustainable procurement plan was not in place, we engaged a local company who were adept in sustainable construction practices.
Governance
CCC has an established project management framework, within which we successfully embedded the sustainability approach. Our sponsor was a strong advocate for sustainability practices.
This retrospective application of the toolkit, especially the P5 Impact Assessment, confirms its benefits. It facilitated the creation of essential documents such as the Requirements Register, the Sustainability Management Plan and KPIs to deliver increased value.
Summary
Sustainability very much aligns with local governments’ outcomes and strategic priorities. The CCSD PM Toolkit is a guide developed by project managers for project managers that can help to maximise project
success by delivering the required benefits and value.
Since the release of the CCSD toolkit in November 2023, it has been distributed to 17 countries. We have received considerable positive feedback. It is currently being tested. The toolkit needs to be further customised to suit specific organisations.
A copy of the CCSD Toolkit is available upon request from the link:
https://pmi.org.nz/climate-change-andsustainability-action-group/ GPM P5 Standard for Sustainability in Project Management can be downloaded from the following link: https://rb.gy/t1bz90
All documents are free of charge. It is about sharing the learning, adapting it, using it, being part of the change and making a positive impact for a better world.
environmental conditions.
Increasingly extreme weather must be counteracted by more complex and sophisticated drainage concepts to protect people from water, and water from people. Our products are designed to collect & manage water effectively. Scan the QR Code and find out more about ACO’s Mission!
The design of the Ben Rarere Pump Station includes cultural forms, a naturally safer environment, locality approach, and prevents water contamination.
When every drop counts
For over 90 years ADR has been there for New Zealand water authorities and Councils with our fieldsmart technology.
From metering to control systems to pump controllers, we offer insight and expertise in the technology that helps you manage water and waste water to a high standard, with resources that are always limited.
Water loss lessons from the field
South Island leak detection contractor, Gulzar Ali, shares how he helped implement a dramatic cut in leakage rates in a rural trickle field scheme.
With over a fifth of the water in our reticulation networks being lost through leaks, leakage reduction is a keen focus of Water New Zealand’s Water Efficiency and Conservation Network (WE CAN).
Having championed the development of the water loss guidelines in 2023, WE CAN has shifted its focus to supporting operators and contractors with on-ground implementation.
Recognising the key role of contractors in delivering water loss reduction in the field, Gulzar Ali has shared his practical experience in driving down water loss in a rural trickle field scheme.
During his time at Timaru District Council, a partnership with Detection Services, leakage rates were slashed from 25 litres per second (lps), around 20 percent of the water in the scheme, down to a mere 2lps. He explains how they did it.
“When I was employed by Timaru District Council, I was tasked with managing the reticulation of a rural trickle feed scheme.
“The council had set a benchmark – if leakage was more than 10 percent, a leak detection contractor was to be engaged. With leakage at the scheme significantly exceeding the benchmark, I began by walking the entire main to understand the network.”
Visible leaks were then fixed, but this did not solve the leakage issues. Gulzar says the main trunk pipe was laid in gravel soil, “which meant water could be flowing like a river without being noticeable at the surface”.
To identify such leaks, the council engaged Detection Services to use digital correlators. These are electronic devices that can find leaks in pressured pipes where the rough location of the leak is unknown, and the distances are relatively high.
Leakage identification
Digital correlators require two (or more) loggers to be placed in contact with a pipe on both sides of a suspected leak. Those sensors record and transmit the sound by radio to the processing unit.
Mathematical algorithms determine the exact location of certain noise profiles (such as a hissing leak sound) on the pipe by correlating the noises that reach both sensors and measuring the difference in the time it takes to travel from the leak location to each sensor.
Logging points were installed at 100 metres to 150 metres, depending on distance, or sometimes they were used on the air valve or scour valve. Once a leak was located, the contractor would provide a GPS location, then Galzar would take the following steps:
• Map the GPS location using a geographic information system (GIS) to pinpoint the leak,
• Drive to each location to verify the site of the leaks and mark the area, then
• Discuss with our reactive work contractor how the leak could be repaired.
The critical importance of contractor communications
“It is a common mistake when working at our desks to fail to consider how the contractor will be able to deliver. Developing a plan in conjunction with contractors is critical.”
Galzar says important considerations include the number of leaks, their size and traffic management requirements, as well as the contractors’ workloads and staffing availability.
“Our leakage repair contractor is also responsible for reactive work. Leakage repair on this scheme sits on top of this, so understanding and working together to manage workload is critical to ensure that response times for reactive work are maintained.
“We managed this by assigning contractors the tasks as a priority four. This meant reactive work was maintained as a higher priority and response times were not affected, but leaks were fixed and reported on when the contractor was available.”
Prioritising leaks for repair
Galzar says most of the reticulation pipe they were dealing with was in a forestry block, however some ran under a state highway, meaning traffic management plans were needed. To avoid unnecessary planning, they prioritised leaks that did not require traffic management plans, assessing leakage reduction as they went.
Leaks were further prioritised based on size, with the largest repaired first. Following a repair, a photo of each job would be attached to the work order, plus Galzar would do a site visit for auditing purposes.
Once all identified leaks were fixed, the Leak Detection Services contractor did a final sweep of the scheme to capture any remaining small leaks on the trunk main. This helps prevent small leaks turning into larger leaks.
Lessons
“Leak detection is one part of the puzzle, but the key is to first understand your network. Noting and understanding why the leak has occurred will help you identify what can be done better in the future. For example, if the entire main is steel with a concrete lining and you have replaced a section, that would be a good area to check for leaks.
“If you have a critical asset that is aging and you don’t have funds to renew the entire pipe immediately, invest instead in critical parts such as couplers to prevent leaks.”
Every day, Galzar would make a record of flow rate to allow a water loss comparison, thereby creating a record with years’ worth of information.
“I could compare a hot day today with two years ago, helping me understand the usage and the loss.”
The trunk main has now been replaced, which marked the end of Galzar’s work for the council.
Creating strong systems for safe and equitable water, sanitation and hygiene
By Fraser Goff, systems strengthening technical lead, WaterAid Australia
Those of us working in the water industry know making water services so streamlined that people don’t give them a second thought takes a lot of hard work. The people, institutions and processes that ensure services function smoothly are what WaterAid refers to as WASH systems.
In the contexts where WaterAid works, services are not supported by strong WASH systems.
This might mean roles and responsibilities are unclear, or there are key workforce gaps in service provision, regulation or community engagement. It might mean there is no overarching strategy to ensure everyone has access, no specific plans to reach the most marginalised or no planning for resilience to climate change.
Weak systems might mean when the tap runs dry, people have no reliable way to contact a service provider or find a skilled and accredited person to help them. These systemic problems are often linked with political indifference, inadequate accountability and insufficient budgets.
One of WaterAid’s primary approaches is to strengthen the systems for sustainable and inclusive WASH. We do this by engaging widely with people who make up the system; national government departments, local councils, utilities, service users, rights advocates and academics.
In our projects, we bring stakeholders together to assess their system. Together we identify what gaps exist in functions such as planning, financing, service delivery, accountability, regulation and institutional arrangements that can lead to service failure.
WaterAid plays many different roles in a WASH system. We are a convenor,
bringing people together and bridging communication barriers across sectors and between national and sub-national levels. We are technical specialists who provide advice on WASH, gender equity and disability inclusion for policies and strategies.
We are innovators who develop new processes to monitor WASH services, or demonstrate solutions to fill gaps in the market and service chain. We are advocates who work with rightsholder organisations and local leaders to generate the evidence they need to champion change.
How WaterAid works to strengthen WASH systems is as important as what priorities we work on with the local sector. We use participatory and collaborative approaches to create lasting relationships between stakeholders, and to shift power dynamics so that when decisions are made, a diversity of voices are heard.
We also try to influence attitudes so that leaders and service providers
prioritise WASH among their competing demands. After all, there is no use having a strategy or a regulatory framework if it isn’t owned and implemented by the right people.
When WaterAid started working in Kandal province, Cambodia in 2020, only 83.8 percent of households had access to an improved toilet. Over 200,000 people practised open defecation, posing a disease risk to themselves and their neighbours. WaterAid worked with the new director of the Provincial Department of Rural Development, Chy Thavy, to put sanitation on the provincial agenda.
Through a provincial workshop we identified the bottlenecks preventing progress including a lack of understanding of responsibilities amongst district leaders, no clear strategy, roadmap or action plan to eliminate open defecation and no budget allocation for promoting toilet construction, changing people’s behaviours, or gathering data.
WaterAid collaborated with the Ministry
of Rural Development and Chy’s provincial department to turn the situation around.
For inspiration, WaterAid organised an exchange visit for provincial and district leaders to visit another province which had recently ended open defecation.
WaterAid ran data management training for 85 district officials. They then trained 725 village chiefs to collect household sanitation data. We devised a simple process for local councils to create sanitation plans. Using their new data,
local leaders set targets for each village to increase the number of household toilets each month.
Leaders came up with new ways to promote toilets and support the poorest people in their community. When they found ideas that worked, we helped to scale the ideas to other districts.
Under Thavy’s leadership, provincial and district WASH committees met regularly to update progress, keep each other accountable and encourage friendly
competition between districts and local councils.
In 2022 Kandal province was declared free from open defecation.
WaterAid’s support to leadership, collaboration, monitoring and planning processes has helped build the foundations for WASH services in Kandal province. We are now supporting Thavy and her team in their next ambitious effort – ensuring all 1.3 million people in Kandal have access to clean water supply.
