Water Journal March/April 2024

Designing water-efficient homes

Watching Tauranga’s water for good

From sanctuary to sea

President: Lorraine Kendrick

Board Members: Bruce Balaei, Troy Brockbank, Fraser Clark, Tim Gibson, David Hogg, Lorraine

Kendrick, Priyan Perera, Shelley Wharton

Chief Executive: Gillian Blythe

Internal Events and Logistics Co-ordinator:

Katrina Guy

Corporate

Membership Administrator/Office Manager:

Pip Donnelly

Technical Manager: Noel Roberts

Technical Advisor (Regulatory): Nicci Wood

Technical Advisor (Projects and Sustainability): Lesley Smith

Training Development Manager: Belinda Cridge

Communications Manager: Debra Harrington

Marketing, Website and Design Co-ordinator:

Ranya Adolf

Association Secretary and Executive Administrator: Ali Bray

Accounts Administrator: Zoe Hubbard

OUR SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS

Young Water Professionals: Chapters in Auckland, Wellington and

For information contact:

Katrina Guy 04 495 0891, email: Katrina.guy@waternz.org.nz

WATER JOURNAL

Editorial: Mary Searle Bell, Contrafed Publishing

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Design: Jonathan Whittaker

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ISSN 1179-2949 (Print)

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Water is printed on environmentally responsible paper, sourced from PEFC certified fibre from sustainably managed and legally harvested forests, and manufactured under strict ISO 14001 environmental management systems.

58 Helping save endangered native fish

61 From sanctuary to sea

68 Adapting water infrastructure for an uncertain climate

70 Lessons from India

80 Empowering women through inclusive WASH initiative in Papua New Guinea

CASE STUDIES AND COMMENT PIECES

24 Remote community granted exemption

38 UV LED technology in municipal water treatment

40 Lessons from across the ditch

56 Innovative solutions to addressing leaks and water losses

65 Improving water infrastructure requires new investment strategies

66 Improving water resilience to build for a changing climate

74 CWTP fire response and recovery

76 Legal comment

‘Ka

ka ora te whenua, ka ora nga tangata’

‘If the water is healthy, the land is healthy, the people are healthy’

We need to focus on the long term

Lorraine Kendrick President, Water New Zealand

As 2024 gets underway, I think we can safely say we enjoyed our time in the sun these past months without a repeat of the devastating cyclones that hit our northern regions and Tairāwhiti the previous summer. Yet water and water infrastructure woes still dominated our headlines – whether it was polluted beaches, water shortages or how we can afford to fix our crumbling infrastructure.

As the repeal of the previous government’s reforms start to impact on councils, it’s vital that we work together as the water sector and continue to keep our focus firmly on the long term goals of safe drinking water, clean, healthy and swimmable beaches, lakes and rivers wherever you are.

In February, the Government announced the makeup of its new Local Water Done Well Technical Advisory Group (see more on pages 12-13) and the comments from group chair, Andreas Heuser on page 56.

As your water community, we intend to work with and support the new Minister and his advisory group and, through our membership, continue to provide the technical and expert advice needed to address our infrastructure problems.

We will also continue to ensure that the voice of the sector is represented at any opportunity including submissions on the new legislation coming before the House later this year. There are many key issues that need addressing, from affordability to customer expectation and ensuring service delivery across the country.

Already this year we have responded to a request for input into the initial draft of the Government’s proposed fast-track consenting legislation and changes to the application of the hierarchy of obligations to consenting under the National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management.

The new fast track legislation is scheduled to be introduced to Parliament in early March (while Water is in production). We have already raised concerns about the risks of unintended consequences, the need to ensure more national guidance around

freshwater and wastewater plant standards and consistency around district plans. It’s vital to ensure that the obvious benefits of fasttrack consenting do not come at the expense of the environment in the long term.

The water issues we are grappling with are long term and that’s why we embarked last year on our ‘Towards 2050 – Transformation vision for the sector’. We need to be visionary and focus on the long term. The infrastructure and water management decisions we make now will have ramifications for decades and even generations to come.

So it’s not surprising that the key finding on our visionary document was centred around the need to truly value water and place Te Mana o te Wai at the heart of water service delivery. Without healthy water, we know that the land and people will not be healthy or prosperous.

This year we’ll be putting the lens on each of the document’s focus areas to set a course on how we can achieve that vision. We’ll be ensuring all our members have the opportunity to be involved through one of a number of workshops around the country. I hope to see you there.

It’s been more than seven years since the 2016 Havelock North contamination crisis provided a wake-up call. Ensuring safe drinking water and a clean environment is a long-term commitment and these past seven years have seen a huge growth in the understanding of our vital water assets and the importance of a holistic approach to water management.

With that, I urge you not to miss one of the big events on the water calendar, our Stormwater Conference and Expo 2024, this year in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington in May. Keep an eye on our website or read Pipeline for updates on keynote speakers, workshops, presentations and much more.

Ka kite anō

Lorraine Kendrick President

Claudelands, Kirikiriroa Hamilton

Save the Date

Join the discussion at the biggest event on the three waters calendar

Call for Abstracts is now open

Don’t miss this important opportunity to present your paper to a key water sector audience.

Over two and a half days, the Water New Zealand Conference and Expo 2024 will explore the latest thinking on innovation and technology, Te Mana o te Wai, partnerships, resilience and sustainability, and water reforms.

Poster opportunity

Don’t have a paper to present at conference but want to showcase your research findings, project or case study?

Presenting a poster is a good way of getting your peers to take note of your work.

Closing date for posters and abstracts – 3 April 2024

Accessing climate change projections data for water

Climate change will affect water in many different ways, from the amount of snowpack making it into rivers in the spring, to increased risk of flooding due to sea level rise, to impacts to groundwater levels and surface flooding during storms.

Because of the complexity of modelling the water cycle, these climate change impacts are, for the most part, researched and modelled in different ways. There are a range of research groups who have modelled or are working to model these impacts.

Two new infosheets have been produced by the Deep South Challenge to outline what information is available and where you can find it.

The info sheet ‘Where to go for water data’ will help identify the authoritative data sources to answers questions such as:

• How quickly is the sea level changing on my coastline?

• How could our river flows change because of climate?

• Where do I find information about flooding in my neighbourhood?

• Our community needs local rainfall data, where do we begin?

The second data info sheet, ‘River Flow Projections to Support Climate Change Adaptation’, focuses on how climate change is expected to impact river flow in Aotearoa New

Zealand. Data could inform questions on water services planning, water infrastructure, or drinking water. This info sheet will help answer questions such as:

• What do we know about how river flow will change under climate change?

• What data is available?

• Which data is most appropriate to consider?

• What are the limits of the data and what can it be used for?

The info sheets are available via the following links: deepsouthchallenge.co.nz/ resource/infosheet-water-data/ and deepsouthchallenge.co.nz/resource/datasheet-river-flow-projections/

Towards 2050 next steps workshops

Last year, with the help of many of our enthusiastic and dedicated members, we embarked on an ambitious transformation vision for the water sector. The goal was to find and articulate a collective vision about where we wanted the generational change we were undertaking in water to lead us. How would we focus on the long-term transformation change needed and what did we want to see this vital sector look like in 2050?

The result was ‘Towards 2050: Transformation vision for the water sector,’ which can be read on waternz.org.nz. The

document grew out of many workshops and discussions across the country, tapping into subject matter experts on a range of areas.

Transformation 2050 articulates industry thoughts on future aspirations, and steps to get there, clustered around seven focus areas: Te Mana o te Wai, capability and education, climate and environment, people and community, as well as digital, planning and standards, and smart buyer.

We believe this vision remains vitally important and relevant. We need to continue to focus on generational change. That’s why

this year we are holding industry workshops on each of the focus areas outlined in our transformation document. As a sector, we want to ensure no regret actions and to take ownership of next steps.

Our delivery will partner with thought leaders across the sector. Our first, Smart Buyer workshop, will be held on March 19 in Wellington. Visit the Events Calendar on the Water New Zealand website to register for this and upcoming events. If there are specific opportunities you want to see addressed email Lesley.Smith@waternz.org.nz.

Need for a national approach to consumer complaints

Water New Zealand chief executive Gillian Blythe says there is a need for a conversation about consumer protection in water service delivery, including the level of service customers can expect and how to get access to complaints schemes when things go wrong.

The new Government has already indicated that the Water Infrastructure Regulator within the Commerce Commission will be responsible for fair pricing and charging of water services.

The Commission is the regulatory body for other natural monopolies like broadband, electricity transmission, and airports.

National’s Local Water Done Well policy statement says the regulatory rules will ensure adequate revenue for water services is raised but will not require councils to operate any particular charging mechanism.

It says the role of the Water Infrastructure Regulator will be to ensure that whichever

Oustanding demand for digital badges

Water New Zealand’s digital badges look set to be a popular learning opportunity for 2024. Training manager Belinda Cridge says there was a big jump in digital badge enrolments in January and February.

“Many people have clearly started this year with a resolution to upskill their water knowledge and our digital badges provide a good base for this.”

She says the badges are suited to those who are both new to the sector as well as people who have been working in water for

a while who want a bit of a refresher or want a better understanding of aspects outside of their particular expertise.

“Each badge provides an overview of a specific aspect of the water industry that help to make up the full picture.

“The other great thing about the badges are their flexibility. They’re fully online and can be done at times that suit each participant.”

Two new badges were introduced late last year – Rural Water Supplies 101 and School

mechanism is being used, it is both fair for consumers and able to meet infrastructure quality and financial sustainability requirements.

However, Gillian says it is also important to ensure that there is an independent complaints scheme offering an option for customers if a deadlock is reached with a water service provider. She says a scheme similar to what currently exists in electricity, gas and telecommunications is needed for water services.

Drinking Water (Self supplies) 101. Both have also proven popular. They join the suite of other digital badge learning opportunities from drinking and wastewater to stormwater and more. Go to the Water New Zealand training page on the website to see this year’s opportunities: waternz.org.nz/trainingcalendar

Cultural Significance and Importance of Wai module – the first intake this year has sold out but there are still places available for the next on 9 May. Find out more on the training calendar.

New podcast discussions in the pipeline

Last year Water New Zealand’s podcast series, Tāwara o te Wai, delved into some of the key issues facing the water sector. How water fared at COP-28 in Dubai along with some of the carbon-reduction lessons we can learn from one of the UK’s biggest water entities were just two of the topics under discussion by co-hosts Jon Reed and Hannah Edmond, from the Water New Zealand Climate Change Group.

Jon and Hannah will be back this year and amongst topics earmarked for discussion are water shortages, the changing role of utilities, RMA reform, and cyber-security.

In the meantime, you can read more about COP28 discussions and Anglian Water’s journey to carbon zero as well as listen to them and other podcast by searching Water New Zealand on Spotify podcasters. spotify.com/pod/show/waternewzealand.

Climate Change and Cop28 - an exercise in obfuscation or real progress?

In our last Tāwara o te Wai podcast of the year, Jon and Hannah spoke to two Kiwis who attended the global talkfest in Dubai: Bupon Fakhruddin from the Green Climate Fund and Beca chief executive Amelia Linzey.

“I quoted the movie ‘Everything, Everywhere All at Once‘. It was really that on the ground. It was seeing the universality, I suppose, of different sectors looking at what climate change adaptation looks like everywhere,” says Amelia.

For her, the real takeaway was the overwhelming challenge climate change creates. Bupon was also impressed by the scale of Dubai but said there was still uncertainty.

“The best takeaway for me, actually, was to see the discussion we had in pre-COP about loss and damage funding.”

And what about progress? Amelia was optimistic: “It is disappointing in some ways to see the scale of the change that we need but at the same time there is a positive side to this. We did see a high ambition agreement signed on fossil fuels. New Zealand was a signatory to this so I think there is a positive side to this.”

She said that even having a conversation about debating between phase out and phase down was a significant shift.

“So the challenge for me was, are we going to be able to do this in the time we have.”

Bupon says the Water Pavilion at Dubai was a success. “We were able to give a clear message that water is a climate change problem. We now need to look at water management as a key.”

Both were optimistic about Aotearoa New Zealand’s role at Dubai despite winning the ‘Fossil of the Year’ award when the new Government revoked the ban on off shore oil exploration.

Amelia: “It was a very difficult time for us to be there with a changing government. Some roles were not filled as COP started, so it was really good to see Simon Watts get up there. I think that was a commitment that he was making to the importance of the conversation.”

And what about ‘Fossil of the Year’. Amelia, again: “I think that this was a local commitment that had quite a big impact on our brand and reputation in places like COP. We are on a global stage and we do send global messages.”

Bupon was impressed by the impact that Aotearoa New Zealand biculturalism had on COP and he says there were other wins. “You maybe saw a big partnership has been announced in Africa to enhance food security. That was a big takeaway for me.”

He also says Dubai saw water become important. “I think water governance is weak in every particular country because of our work silos and working culture. Water is now at the centre of all the COP discussions”

Lessons from Anglian Water’s journey to carbon neutrality

“When an organisation has a carbon lens rather than a cost lens, that’s when the magic starts to happen with these innovations coming through,” says David Riley to Jon and Hannah on a Tāwara o te Wai podcast

David is head of carbon neutrality for Anglian Water, one of England’s largest water entities, with over seven million customers across an area that stretches from Colchester in the south to Lincoln in the north. It was privatised in 1989 and is now owned by a mix of international investors, private equity funds and banks.

He says Anglian Water’s journey towards carbon neutrality began in 2006. “We decided it was no longer acceptable to design and build our assets with high levels of carbon. The big question was how to take the first steps.”

Anglian Water gets two thirds of the UK’s annual rainfall, it has one of the country’s faster growing populations, and 36 percent is below sea level.

So how did David Riley move the organisation towards carbon awareness?

When he joined Anglian Water, he started master classes that initially discussed heat waves and storm events. He admits 20 percent of the staff were naysayers. “I focused on the 80 percent that will do great things in the future. Individuals that want to listen.

“The evidence is now upon us. The challenge is, is it already too late?”

Should we be focusing on climate adaptation rather than reducing how much carbon we are emitting? David believes that reducing carbon has to be the focus, and he has plenty of examples of success in Anglian Water.

“In 2009 Anglia Water generated 26 gigawatt hours from biomethane. That has now reached 130 gigawatt hours and we are now exporting biomethane into the grid.”

However, David also points to what has been achieved with water tanks when a plastic company approached Anglian Water with a low carbon alternative. “I said great let’s try it, but the concrete industry didn’t like that and asked how they could get their business back. They approached us with a pre-stressed concrete and a cement replacement material solution.

“Well the plastics industry didn’t like that, so we asked about the wider impacts of using tanks.”

David says the plastic companies changed their ways of excavating and reduced the amount of aggregate they were using.

“That removed a lot of the carbon out of the asset – so now we are back to plastic tanks again.”

Riley says this emphasis on carbon neutrality was achieved by both a top down and a bottom-up approach in Anglian Water.

“We have investors passionate that we have a sustainable business.

“When you have the management boards, the CEOs, all pushing in that same direction and wanting that to happen, that’s a really important point.

“Bottom-up its almost akin to health and safety. It’s almost translating the carbon approach and mirroring what we have done with health and safety.”

So, what’s the next challenge for Anglian Water? David says they are now investigating the biggies in the supply chain.

“How do we lower carbon in our concrete and identify in our supply chain a lower carbon steel?”

If you want to hear more on this, listen to David’s discussion with Jon and Hannah on Tāwara o te Wai.

Footnote: Even while many staff are focused on doing the right thing, failing to address pipe blockages has been a costly error for Anglian Water. The company was last year fined £2.65 million after it allowed the equivalent of three Olympic swimming pools (7.5 million litres) of untreated sewage to overflow into the North Sea in 2018.

Water New Zealand joins the Water Wonder challenge

By Belinda Cridge, Water New Zealand training manager

Water the wonder

That lives in your brain.

Water your wonder

With questions like rain.

The more that you ask

The more you will know.

And watering wonder

Will help wonder grow.

Wallow in wonder

Wherever you go.

By Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, children’s author, poet and writing teacher

Water New Zealand has teamed up with Engineering New Zealand’s The Wonder Project to encourage students to wonder about water. The Wonder Project is all about making science, tech, engineering, and maths (STEM) cool for kids. The team want to spark creativity, help with problemsolving, and show off how awesome engineering can be as a career.

The Wonder Project has all sorts of resources and activities to make learning about engineering a blast. There are classroom activities, handson workshops, and online stuff for teachers and parents to use and support their kids’ learning.

It’s also about making the engineering world more diverse and inclusive. There are special programmes to get girls and other underrepresented groups into STEM fields.

The goal? To make sure more young folks are amped up and ready to dive into engineering careers, and to make sure the engineering world reflects the needs of all kinds of communities.

To date, the Wonder Project has inspired more than 115,000 learners across 4000 classrooms over 1200 schools with the support of more than 2000 STEM professionals. They currently run challenges based on rocket science and power, but from term three, water will be on the menu.

This new challenge is currently in development with a team of engineers, educationalists, and enthusiastic water industry representatives. To understand more about the Wonder Project, the Water New Zealand team went to talk to some teachers and pupils who had recently completed

the Rocket Challenge to see how it works and what they thought.

From the teachers

Our school decided to jump on board with the Wonder Project, so we signed up online at wonderproject.nz/. It’s a straightforward process, and they make sure we’re all set with some training (because it actually is rocket science!). Once we were in, they paired us up with an ambassador. These ambassadors are from various backgrounds – some are in jobs linked directly to the project, while others bring solid engineering know-how, all with a shared passion for getting students amped up about STEM subjects.

Both teachers and the ambassadors get a comprehensive info pack packed with learning materials and teaching guides. Then, the real fun begins! The challenges usually go for about a term, around six to eight weeks. During that time, we dived into experimenting, trying things out, adapting, changing, challenging, refining – you name it.

For the Rocket Challenge, the goal is to send a bottle rocket soaring as far as possible. Students had to wrap their heads around all the bits of the rocket and how they work together. Oh, and the ambassador swings by at specific points in the project to lend a hand, throw in suggestions, and just be part of the excitement.

The Wonder Project power challenge.

School children test the rocket they built as part of the Wonder Project.

We loved the programme because it provides a hands-on and enjoyable way for students to explore the STEM learning areas, elevating their experience with the curriculum. The project-based learning experiences are not only engaging but guide students through a process that leads to genuine success.

Collaborating with industry professionals not only enhances our skills but also exposes students to real-world applications of what they’re learning. Plus, the programme actively works towards sparking interest in STEM among underrepresented groups like young women, Māori, and Pacific Peoples, inspiring a new generation of diverse STEM professionals.

From the students

“I loved improving our rocket by adding sand. It flew further than the rockets with no weight in the nose.”

“Working through the Rocket Challenge was amazing – it’s like a journey where we get to see our ideas take off, quite literally. Plus, the programme opens our eyes to real-world applications of what we’re learning, and it’s awesome to get to know the ambassadors. It’s a bit like turning our regular classes into an

adventure that’s both fun and educational.”

“After doing the Wonder Project, I think STEM is amazing! I am more interested in a STEM job now because I’ve actually heard people explain it really well.”

The Water Wonder Project

The latest development, the Water Challenge, is currently in development, and the Wonder Project is on the hunt for schools eager to pilot the challenge in term three. If you know of a school that might be interested, direct them to the Wonder Project website for all the details.

They are also on the lookout for ambassadors who are keen to support STEM learning in schools across the country. Numerous water professionals are already on board, finding the experience incredibly rewarding. If you’re interested in being an ambassador for water or any of our other challenges, check out the Get Involved section on the Wonder Project website - wonderproject.nz, for more information.

Join us on this exciting journey of sparking curiosity and enthusiasm for STEM education!

“Seeing the excitement and inquisitive approach from all the children in the challenge, highlights how important these activities

are to developing the next generation of STEM professionals.” Jane Kubala, Watercare Services.

Other Water New Zealand STEM initiatives

This year we’re offering an opportunity for high school students to join us the day before our Stormwater Conference and Expo in Te Whanganuia-Tara Wellington so they have the opportunity to talk directly to people in the sector, including recent graduates. There’s a huge range of dynamic career opportunities and we want to make sure that school students, as well as those already in the tertiary sector, are aware of these opportunities. Find out more at stormwaterconference.org.nz

House of Science water education

Often students form ideas of possible career pathways as young as primary school and one reason why Water New Zealand has been partnering with the House of Science to bring water education kits to schools. These provide teacher-friendly and fun, hands-on learning resources for primary schools nationwide. Your can find out more at houseofscience.nz. There are also resources and further information available on our website, or you can contact Belinda.cridge@waternz.org.nz

New direction for water services and infrastructure funding

The Government has been moving quickly to implement its Local Water Done Well policies that returns responsibility for water infrastructure and services to councils.

In mid-February the Water Services Acts Repeal Act was passed. The Act repeals the three key pieces of legislation under the previous government’s Affordable Water Reforms that paved the way for the setting up of 10 regional water utilities and set out economic regulation and consumer protection.

As well as repealing the Water Services Entities Act 2022, Water Services Legislation Act 2023, and the Water Services Economic Efficiency and Consumer Protection Act 2023, the new legislation also disestablished the WSE A – the Auckland and Northland entity which was due to be operational by mid-year.

The Water Services Acts Repeal Act also sets out some long term plan requirements where:

• Councils can opt to defer their 2024-2034 long term plans by 12 months;

• Must prepare an enhanced 2024-25 annual plan and consult on that plan;

• Enable the review of any water services bylaws to be deferred.

The new legislation returns customer complaints to the water services regulator Taumata Arowai.

The repeal act was the first of three pieces of legislation expected this year to implement Local Water Done Well. The timeline is as follows:

Mid-2024: Framework and transitional arrangements

New legislation to be enacted in mid 2024 will establish the framework for the councils to self-determine future service delivery arrangements through a water services delivery plan submitted within the 12 months. It also establishes information disclosure requirements as the first step towards new economic regulation.

Streamline requirements for establishing council-controlled organisations (CCOs) under the Local Government Act will enable councils to start moving the delivery of water services into more financially sustainable configurations -such as CCOs - should they wish to – before the legislation is enacted.

Auckland Council has been singled out for extra technical and advisory support to determine how they can create a financially sustainable model for Watercare.

December 2024 – mid-2025: Transition

period

This new legislation will set long-term requirements for financial sustainability including:

• Provision for a range of structural and financial tools including a new class of ‘financially independent’ CCOs;

• The water regulator’s empowering legislation to ensure the regulatory regime is fit for purpose and standards are proportionate for different types of drinking water suppliers;

• Provision for a complete economic regulator regime;

• Establish regulatory backstop powers to be used when required to ensure effective delivery of financially sustainable or safe water services;

• Refine water service delivery settings to support the new system, such as consistent industry standards;

• Includes regulatory backstop powers, allowing the government to intervene if the entities get into trouble financially.

Technical Advisory Group

The technical advisory group (TAG) of experts in finance, infrastructure and local government to contribute specialist and technical expertise will be focussed on providing advice and assurance on policy and legislative settings enabling councils to recover costs and access the longterm debt for infrastructure investment.

The group will be headed by Andreas Heuser, the managing director at Castalia, a strategic adviser on infrastructure, natural resources and social service provision. Andreas carried out the research relied on by the Communities 4 Local Democracy group, which questioned the former government’s calculations of the ultimate cost to ratepayers of failing to carry out its reforms. He also performed analysis of National’s fiscal plan in

the lead-up to the election.

Other members of the group include: Infrastructure Commission director Raveen Jaduram. Raveen is on the board of Auckland Transport and Infrastructure Asset Management Professionals. He is a past president of Water New Zealand, chair of the NZ water sector Senior Executives Forum, chair of the Infrastructure Research Centre at the University of Auckland, and until November 2020 was chief executive of Watercare.

Porirua City Council chief executive Wendy Walker. Wendy has held the position of chief executive since 2015. She is of Ngāti Mutunga O Wharekauri descent and, at the time of her initial appointment, in 2015 was the first Māori woman to become a local government chief executive of a city council. She has more than a quarter of a century’s experience in local government, including 18 years at Wellington City Council.

Chapman Tripp finance partner Mark Reese. Mark has acted for financial institutions and corporate borrowers on debt capital markets and other funding transactions. He also advises public and private sector agencies on complex and novel projects and transactions, including major infrastructure projects.

Whangārei District Council chief executive Simon Weston. Simon has a 35-year career spanning New Zealand and the United Kingdom. His background includes water services, civil construction, and infrastructure. Simon is a member of Engineering New Zealand and a charted professional engineer and APEC engineer.

Andreas Heuser

Raveen Jaduram

Wendy Walker

Simon Weston

Mark Reese

Graeme Leggat

The water industry has said farewell to one of its oldest members with the death of Graeme Leggat late last year, following a long battle with cancer. He was 88.

His career began with six years service with the Ministry of Works as part of the bursary that funded his engineering degree. He then travelled to the United States with his family in 1968, working for two years in Boston with Metcalf & Eddy Consulting Engineers as a project manager working on solid waste projects. This was followed by a further two years with the firm’s branch in Palo Alto, California, where he was project manager for a water treatment plant for Panama City.

On his return to New Zealand in 1971, he joined Steven Fitzmaurice & Partners in Auckland. He was made partner after six years and in 1989 the firm merged with what it now Beca. He remained employed there as a senior principal until his retirement from fulltime work in 1995.

Graeme began serving the industry back in the 1970s when he joined the Water Supply

and Disposal Association, a volunteer-run early precursor to Water New Zealand. He was on the committee for 10 years from 1978, as treasurer for six of them.

For his service to the water industry, Graeme was made a life member of Water New Zealand in 1993, and he was made a fellow of IPENZ. He was honoured by the American Water Pollution Control Federation and was a recipient of the Arthur Sidney Bedell Award.

A passionate cricketer, he gave many hours to his local cricket club where, along with serving on the committee for many years, he designed and supervised the building of an indoor wicket and, later, new clubrooms. For his efforts, he was awarded life membership of the club, and serving as its patron since 2009.

He also worked tirelessly for local community organisations throughout his life, including the Whitford Residents & Ratepayers Association, the Clevedon Community Board, the Whitford Community Trust, and the Te Puru Trust. In 2012, he was awarded a Queen’s Service Medal for services to the community.

We

Join

us at the Stormwater Conference and Expo 2024

Stormwater 2024 is about healthy liveable water-resilient communities across Aotearoa New Zealand

Join us – be part of the discussion and be inspired

Our conference and expo will help prepare you for the challenges ahead with inspirational presentations and cutting edge technology on display at over 40 expo stands

Go to stormwaterconference.org.nz

Earlybird registrations close Friday 22 March

Helen Atkins

Leading by example

The 2023 young water professional of the year was Sifa Pole, Watercare’s design delivery manager for asset upgrades & renewals. Embracing his cultural heritage, he is passionate about supporting other young Pasifika engineers to strive towards excellence. By Mary Searle Bell.

Sifa was born in Fiji and raised in Tonga but moved to Auckland as a sevenyear-old, growing up in the suburb of Ō tāhuhu. At school he was interested in maths and science and was considering studying science at university, however his older brother advised him to do engineering, saying it would have better career options.

“He put me in touch with a cousin who was studying engineering and after talking to her I applied to the University of Auckland to do the same. My grades weren’t where they should have been, but I was fortunate to get in on a Māori/ Pasifika targeted entry scheme.”

Sifa started his degree in 2008, and at the end of his first year, he opted into the civil engineering stream. There, he chose water papers.

“Other than being able to relate to water, I did comparatively well in them –I just found water a lot more interesting than concrete or structures.”

What made his degree even more enjoyable was that he was surrounded by good people and was part of a group of great friends who supported and encouraged each other.

“The old saying that starts ‘it takes a village’ applies at all ages. If you’re not mindful, you could be introducing the wrong sort of people to your village.”

That is perhaps why Sifa is passionate about supporting other young Pasifika engineers in the industry. He served as president of SPPEEx (South Pacific Professional Engineers for Excellence) and, in his award nomination, colleague and graduate engineer Lawrence Foliaki wrote, “Sifa acted as a non-official mentor to me from when I started as an intern at Watercare. His encouragement motivates

me not only to reach my personal standard for my work, but to go above and beyond as a professional and a leader. He’s inspiring me and many others to take charge in the workplace, proactively search for opportunities to develop, and contribute in as many ways as we can to our organisation.”

Isileli Aholelei, another graduate engineer, endorses this: “Sifa immediately was a role model and mentor for me, most likely before he even realised. Sifa exemplifies what it is to be a great leader.”

Isileli invited Sifa to an event where Sifa spoke on how he has incorporated

Tongan cultural values into his leadership style.

Sifa says he’s simply passionate about people: “I like creating high-performance teams that do well,” and he embraces his Pasifika heritage: “We have something to offer the industry in terms of our culture and we should capitalise on those skills.”

Sifa’s career had a bit of a shaky start as he “wasn’t good at following up employment opportunities while still at university” and he took a graduate role as a structural engineer for six months to complete the necessary work hours to finish his degree.

Sifa Pole

“My next role was what I consider my graduate role, when I got a job as a site engineer on the Waterview Tunnel project with Brian Perry Civil.

“My role involved looking after retaining walls – rock bolts, soil nails, ground anchors and the like.

“It was a pretty tough dive into construction, and I managed to stay on my feet. I learned so much about construction work and working on site. As a student, I had been oblivious to the planning aspect of the work and didn’t appreciate the complexity of things like organising resources. Working on site was a foreign world, and I had to learn how to manage expectations and how to deal with the guys on site.”

After two years on the project, Sifa decided he wanted to work with water, so joined Watercare in 2015 as a network engineer looking after water reticulation in central Auckland.

“It was definitely more me, and the hours were less demanding too.”

Once at Watercare, he progressed relatively quickly, moving on to become an operations engineer and then an

operations controller for wastewater.

It was in this role he discovered he found reticulated water more interesting, due to the greater complexity in its management, so moved on in 2019 to become the southern networks operations manager for both water and wastewater.

In 2019, Auckland had a big drought, which made things “interesting” and a lot more challenging for him. “There was a lot more pressure on us – you learn a lot during a drought.

“Watercare undertook a lot of work to make the network more resilient, so we had lots of upgrade projects to get through. Typically, we do one major tiein project a year, but during the drought, it became one a month.”

With one particular project, Sifa and the team had to keep the entire network operational as the new Pukekohe East Reservoir was brought online: “We had a big shut-down for 32 hours and I did two shifts with just five hours sleep in between during that time. It was very stressful but ultimately successful as we didn’t have anyone without water during that time.”

After being in operations for close to eight years, Sifa moved to his current role as Watercare’s infrastructure department as its design delivery manager for assets, upgrades and renewals. Here, he manages a team of project managers who are looking after projects in their design phases.

“I love being in this space. We get to make lasting impacts on projects in this phase – things like reducing risk and costs while still putting assets in the ground.”

Sifa’s engineering work extends beyond Watercare. In 2018 he went to Tonga following Cyclone Gita as a volunteer with Caritas Tonga to help rebuild damaged houses. He also stays in touch with the Tonga Waste Authority, discussing issues in its waste facility and providing support, including getting funding from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to “help sort out the wastewater system”.

It seems, however, a big driver for Sifa is his love of people.

“People are a company’s most interesting and valuable resource, although they can be challenging. Fortunately for me, I’m people-focused so it makes it easier.”

Jon Lamonte

Getting more women into water

Veolia country director for Aotearoa New Zealand Emma Brand celebrates the many remarkable achievements and contributions that women have made in the water sector, but says there’s a long way to go, and we need to be better at attracting and supporting women.

At last year’s Water New Zealand Conference and Expo, it was clear that we continue to be deeply challenged by the critical risks to our water infrastructure not just here but around the globe. The stakes couldn’t be higher, and the clarion call across the conference was for new ways of solving problems and new perspectives because the old ways were no longer serving us.

One under-represented group in our industry that can bring that new perspective today are women. And there are a couple of simple, practical ways that we can bring more women into our decision-making spaces.

Women belong in the lab, at the work site, and in the room solving the massive, complex scientific, engineering, and operational problems that are presented to us in the water industry. From stormwater management and climate change resilience to IoT and digitisation through to asset management, we need a diverse and representative group of people to come up with solutions that meet our collective needs.

One of the most thought-provoking sessions that offered a path to bring in women’s perspectives and experience was the Women in Water panel. I must admit some bias because I had the privilege of having a seat at the table (if you were in the room, you would know that the joke is that it was so oversubscribed that it was standing room only).

The panel contained some extraordinary women in our industry with the session facilitated by Dr. Deborah Lind, Water New Zealand board member; with Lorraine Kendrick, head of technical, National Transition Unit and Water New Zealand president); Laura Fluck, director water, AECOM; Helen Davidson, chief executive, ACE NZ, and Fraser Clark, Head of Strategy, Three Waters, Wellington Water, all contributing to the conversation on how to unlock diversity in our organisations.

There were plenty of discussions on flexibility, sponsorship, and the biases that still hold us back in creating a fully inclusive workplace. This discussion is vital for the water industry.

At Veolia, we know that we need a diverse and representative group of people to deliver on our purpose of ecological transformation, to support the decarbonisation, de-pollution and resource regenerative solutions that the community and environment so critically need.

We also all know that water in particular is at critical risk around the world. Water plays a role at the nexus of infrastructure, climate change, gender equity and increasingly social justice. That’s why we need to bring in new perspectives, new world views – we need women to join us in the operational, scientific, and engineering realms. And we need them to be themselves, to bring their own perspectives, experiences, and ways of seeing the world.

It was also evident that collaboration and communication will

be key ingredients for success in this brave, and uncertain world – these are things that women can absolutely bring to the table for the benefit of all.

Like any mission of worth, this one won’t be easy. It hasn’t been for me, and it was clear from the panel through the stories of Helen and Laura that it hasn’t always been easy for others either. But being in the room to contribute to making the world a better place is worth the struggle.

Every woman I meet in the water industry, and throughout my career in general, has their own journey and their own story, but similar themes emerge.

The first theme is that many women think they don’t belong in this space and commonly experience imposter syndrome. My conversations with female colleagues over the years indicate that this is an issue, not just for our young female scientists, engineers, and operators, but also for more experienced women.

While imposter syndrome isn’t a diagnosable mental health condition, it can be associated with anxiety and depression. What it means is that when you’re in the room, you hold back from contributing because you doubt your place and undervalue your competence and expertise to make a difference.

The research shows that a contributing factor to imposter syndrome is ‘non-contingent feedback’. An example of this is giving your daughter or son, team member or work colleague a pat on the back for doing a “good job”, rather than being specific about what they did well.

Did they work well with others to solve the problem? Did they think outside the box to see the problem in a different way? Did they create the space for others to bring their ideas? This specific feedback gives clarity on exactly what skills and behaviours are positive, constructive and valuable, providing a platform for future achievement.

Imposter syndrome isn’t gendered. However, what multiplies that effect in the water profession is when women walk into the room they are often the only female there. This lived experience for women is backed by the statistics – a mere seven percent of water operators in Aotearoa New Zealand are women.

This is where the second theme emerges – you can’t be what you can’t see. When I speak to women, they invariably reference a role model they wanted to emulate as a young girl. The stories we tell ourselves as a society typically centre on the experiences and contributions of historic white men, with the contributions and experiences of women and people of colour pushed to the sides.

But female role models are critical to not only inspiring women to pursue careers in the water industry, but to also reduce imposter syndrome in the workplace once they get there. If we can increase

our representation of, and exposure to, female scientists, engineers, or operators, we could shift the cultural bias that says, men do science and women do arts.

What I love about the water industry here, is that in my short time here I’ve met so many amazing women, from Natalie Van Leeuwen, Nicky Hart and Anna Te Whaiti as Veolia frontline manager, operator, and technician in Central Hawkes Bay, to Petra Vachova as a process engineer at our Wellington WWTP, to Tonia Haskell as CE for Wellington Water, let alone the women and allies who represented at the Women in Water panel.

We have amazing women in this industry that are leading the way, creating the templates for the next generation of women.

The third theme is the growth mindset. In their 2010 report, ‘Why so few? Women in Science, Engineering, Technology and Mathematics’, the American Association of University Women found that when teachers and parents stressed that intelligence was not fixed but can expand with learning and experience, girls performed better in maths tests and were more likely to continue to study the subject. By reinforcing that the brain is a muscle that gets stronger with effort and experience, girls can reframe the idea that maths is something they can or cannot do, but a skill that is developed over time.

When I look at the obstacles that allow us to create the right inclusive environment to unlock female engagement in the water industry, I immediately see three simple solutions where we can all contribute:

• Create an environment that stamps out imposter syndrome, by providing specific and actionable feedback that gives clarity about why performance was good, great or even exceptional;

• Seek out and elevate the stories of female excellence; and

• Encourage a growth mindset to foster the environment in which girls understand that intelligence expands with learning and experience.

We need women to show up as themselves – not flatten themselves to fit into the dominant culture – to bring a fresh new perspective, challenge the status quo and enable us all to see problems in their entirety.

But we also need to create a world where we tell not only our women, but people of colour, Māori and Pasifika, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, people with other abilities, and those on the margins, that they belong. That we foster an inclusive environment to unlock their talents and ensure that all perspectives are heard to come up with solutions that meet our collective needs.

It’s not going to be easy, but the sweetest victories come from the hardest struggles. And every time a woman puts up her hand to say that she wants in – we all win.

Emma talks to Veolia frontline manager Natalie Van Leeuwen.

Stormwater Excellence and Conference Awards

Stormwater Excellence Awards

Celebrate professional achievement.

Do you or your colleagues deserve recognition for outstanding contribution to the stormwater sector? Make sure you enter in one of the following categories:

• Stormwater Professional of the Year sponsored by Aurecon

• Young Stormwater Professional of the Year sponsored by Beca

• Project of the Year sponsored by Stormwater360

Entries close on Monday 25 March

Stormwater Innovation Award

Celebrate and acknowledge new ways of thinking or doing.

Do you have a project, process or innovative solution you’d like to share with an audience of stormwater professionals?

Entries close on Monday 25 March

Conference Awards

Judged during the conference.

• Poster of the Year

• Presentation of the Year

• Paper of the Year

Award winners will be announced at the Stantec Conference Dinner on Thursday 16 May

Remote community granted exemption

In the final days of 2023, Taumata Arowai granted its first general exemption under the Water Services Act 2021 for the Torrent Bay Township drinking water supply.

By India Eiloart, senior

technical

If you have explored the Abel Tasman Coast Track, then chances are you have had the pleasure of walking by the picturesque Torrent Bay. The small township there is a remote community consisting of 53 holiday homes, a campsite, public toilet and a jetty situated across the bay (Rākauroa/Torrent Bay) from the popular summer spot, Anchorage. Since 1927, a local water supply scheme has provided drinking water from a stream at the north end of the bay.

The township is only accessible by a three-hour bush walk from Mārahau or by boat. No centralised power supply, along with a lack of permanent residents in the township, makes it impractical for the community to operate a drinking water treatment plant as part of the water supply scheme.

The Torrent Bay Township Committee applied to Taumata Arowai for a general exemption and presented a thorough and compelling case. Their application detailed the history and

advisor, Taumata Arowai.

extent of the water supply.

Significant factors included the irregular occupation of the water supply users, challenges faced due to the remote location, and some proposed measures and conditions the community were willing to put in place to manage the risk if a general exemption was granted.

The committee was able to demonstrate that it would be unreasonable or impractical for them to meet the specific requirements of the Act, but that they could provide and implement a solution that is consistent with the main purpose of the Act, which is to ensure safe drinking water.

We were confident that in light of the challenges, the committee could adequately manage the risks to the drinking water it supplies and take steps to make it as safe as possible for the community.

Some conditions were discussed with the committee

representative and included as part of the exemption. These entail each property taking responsibility for maintaining and operating its own filtration and UV end-point treatment system or boiling their drinking water, and clear signage to advise people to boil water from the other publicly available water supply access points at the campsite, public toilet, and boat jetty.

These conditions are aligned with practices the community were already implementing to ensure those drinking the water remain safe.

With small details to clarify between the draft and final decision, we were able to finalise the application before the summer break, enabling the community to discuss the results and next steps at their AGM in early January, their peak occupancy time as a summer destination.

We are really pleased to have been able to grant the first general exemption under the Act to the committee. They take their responsibility as a drinking water supplier seriously and have been proactive throughout the exemption application process. Despite the unique challenges of their community, they identified a suitable pathway to ensure residents and visitors consume safe drinking water.

What is an exemption?

For some drinking water suppliers, it may be unreasonable or impractical to comply with the Water Services Act 2021. Suppliers can apply for an exemption from some of the requirements in the Act.

General exemptions exempt a drinking water supplier from numerous legislative requirements and are intended for supplies such as backcountry huts or isolated campsites where it is impractical to provide safe drinking water, for example due to isolation and/or infrequent use. The exemption must still be consistent with the main purpose of the Act, which is to ensure that drinking water suppliers provide safe drinking water to consumers.

Residual disinfection exemptions specifically exempt a drinking water supplier with piped supply networks from using residual disinfectants like chlorine. It can apply to all or part of a supply. During the assessment process, Taumata Arowai seeks advice from an external advisory panel of international experts.

Class exemptions are either general or residual disinfection exemptions that are applied to a class of drinking water supplier rather than to an individual drinking water supplier. Any supplier who meets the description of the class can choose to rely on a published class exemption. Class exemptions require public consultation.

All exemptions can be issued for a maximum of five years and may have conditions that suppliers must comply with. Visit taumataarowai.govt.nz/for-water-suppliers/exemptions for more information, including the final decision report for the Torrent Bay Township exemption.

The township of Torrent Bay is only accessible by a three-hour bush walk or by boat.

Keeping the community safe by displaying boil water notices at the public tap.

Hunting for novel water sources

Drive down the dusty roads of Jamaica’s rural Mount Airy district and one will see dozens of black water tanks, many connected with drainpipes to the rooftops of neighbouring houses.

The tanks measure two metres tall. They collect rainwater and through a drip irrigation system, channel it to nearby fields brimming with tomatoes, peppers and sweet potatoes. In an area increasingly plagued by drought, which has been linked to climate change, these tanks have become a lifeline for local farmers.

“Everybody I know faces the same challenge of reduced rain and less predictable rainfall,” says farmer Althea Spencer. Having the rainwater harvesting system in place “feels pretty good”.

The Mount Airy work is supported by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). It is part of a push by communities around the world to manage water more sustainably and to find novel sources of water, a quest that has involved everything from purifying sewage to seeding clouds. Those efforts are being driven by what experts say is a looming global water crisis, fed in part by climate change, that could leave two-thirds of humanity facing water stress by next year.

“Water scarcity has become a critical issue for an increasing number of countries,” says Leticia Carvalho, principal coordinator of UNEP’s Freshwater and Marine Branch. “Countries across the globe will therefore need to be more creative in the way they manage, conserve and secure water sources in the years to come. Using unconventional water sources wisely, and in harmony with nature, will be essential for accelerated progress on the Sustainable Development Goals.”

Today, 2.4 billion people live in water-stressed countries, defined as nations that withdraw 25 percent or more of their renewable freshwater resources to meet water demand.

Hard hit regions include Southern and Central Asia, and North Africa, where the situation is considered critical. Even countries with highly developed infrastructure, like the United States, are seeing water levels drop to record lows.

Along with climate change, the crisis is being fed by unchecked urbanisation, rapid population growth, pollution and land development. Water shortfalls already affect everything from food security to biodiversity and in the coming years, they are poised to become more common.

By 2025, 1.8 billion people are likely to face what the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) calls ‘absolute water scarcity’ and two-thirds of the global population is expected to be grappling with water stress.

Rethinking where to get water

Historically, most fresh water for drinking and sanitation has come from groundwater aquifers. But many are drying up due to overuse, longer dry seasons and drought. This is a heightened risk factor for small island developing states where freshwater is becoming increasingly threatened by salination as sea levels rise and degraded lands sink.

In a bid to find water, countries are turning to more unconventional sources.

In some rural areas, including in Chile and Peru, communities are collecting water suspended in the air. Some of these systems use a fine mesh to trap tiny droplets of fog and syphon them into a reservoir.

Many communities are also looking at wastewater as a potential answer to water stress. A 2023 UNEP report found it could supply

Left: Desalination plants, like this one in Saudi Arabia, provide drinking water to 300 million people around the world. However, there are concerns about the environmental toll of the facilities, which often run on fossil fuels and discharge toxic brine.

Below: In Jamaica, farmers say newly installed drip irrigation systems are helping to fend off water shortages brought on by climate change.

more than 10 times the water provided by the world’s current desalination plants.

Wastewater is also a source of energy, nutrients and other recoverable materials, yet only 58 percent of household wastewater is safely treated globally. Wastewater is often not reused due to fears about contagions, microplastics and antimicrobial drugs. But experts say with the right policies and technologies, wastewater can safely be given a second life.

In recent years, countries have started to embrace desalination, the process of removing salt from saltwater and filtering it to produce drinking water. According to a 2018 UN study there are 15,906 operational desalination plants producing around 95 million cubic metres a day of desalinated water for human use, of which 48 percent is produced in West Asia and North Africa. The global dependence on desalination is predicted to grow rapidly in the coming years.

Several nations, such as Bahamas, Maldives and Malta, meet all their water needs through desalination, and about half of Saudi Arabia’s drinking water comes from it. However, desalination requires hefty investment in piping and pumping infrastructure, while the fossil fuels normally used in the energy-intensive desalination process contribute to global warming. The toxic brine desalination produces also pollutes coastal ecosystems.

In their quest to find more water, countries are also looking to tap the atmosphere which is estimated to contain 13,000 cubic kilometres of water vapour. A growing number of countries are experimenting with cloud seeding, a technique in which clouds are sown with silver iodide to make them rain or snow. Nations from Australia to South Africa have invested in the technology, and China has one of the world’s most ambitious programmes. However, guardrails need to be put in place, say experts, to avoid unintended consequences, such as drought in other regions.

Opportunities and barriers

While nations search for new sources of fresh water, experts say communities also need to better manage the water they do have.

On that front, the biggest opportunity is in lessening water loss in agricultural systems by, for example, investing in drip irrigation. Experts also say cities, home to more than half the world’s people, must do a better job of stemming water losses, including from leaky pipes. In the United States, for example, more than 3.7 trillion litres of water are lost annually to faulty household plumbing.

“Using our existing water resources much more efficiently, while also tapping unconventional water sources has huge potential to improve lives and livelihoods,” said Leticia. Policymakers in water-scarce countries need to “radically rethink” their water planning policies by adding unconventional sources of water to the mix, she added.

“For this to happen quickly international financial support, along with science to guide the sustainability of various approaches is urgently needed.”

Article provided by UN Environment Programme

Using Prussian blue to remove nanoplastics

Using Prussian blue, a synthetic pigment used to dye jeans, researchers have found microplastics can be removed by 99 percent with flocculants alone, without any additional equipment, by irradiating them with sunlight.

Microplastics smaller than 20 μm cannot be removed in currently operating water treatment plants and must be agglomerated to a larger size and then removed. Iron (Fe) or aluminum (Al) based flocculants are used for this purpose, but they are not the ultimate solution as they remain in the water and cause severe toxicity to humans, requiring a separate treatment process.

Dr Jae-Woo Choi of the Center for Water Cycle Research at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) has developed an eco-friendly metal-organic skeleton-based solid flocculant that can effectively aggregate nanoplastics under visible light irradiation.

Prussian blue, a metal-organic frameworksbased substance made by adding iron (III) chloride to a potassium ferrocyanide solution, is the first synthetic pigment used to dye jeans a deep blue colour and has recently been used to adsorb cesium, a radioactive element, from Japanese nuclear plant wastewater. While conducting experiments on the removal of radioactive materials from water using Prussian blue, the KIST research team discovered that Prussian blue effectively aggregates microplastics under visible light irradiation.

The research team developed a material that can effectively remove microplastics by adjusting the crystal structure to maximise the aggregation efficiency of Prussian blue. When the developed material is irradiated with visible light, microplastics with a diameter of

about 0.15 μm (150 nm), which are difficult to remove using conventional filtration technology, can be agglomerated to a size about 4100 times larger, making them easier to remove.

In experiments, the researchers found that they were able to remove up to 99 percent of microplastics from water. The developed material is also capable of flocculating microplastics more than three times its own weight, outperforming the flocculation efficiency of conventional flocculants using iron or aluminium by about 250 times.

The material not only uses Prussian blue, which is harmless to the human body, but is also a solid flocculant, making it easy to recover residues in water. It also uses natural light as an energy source, enabling a lowenergy process.

“This technology has a high potential for commercialisation as a candidate material that can be applied to general rivers, wastewater treatment facilities, and water purification plants,” said Dr Choi of KIST. “The developed material can be utilised not only for nanoplastics in water, but also to clean up radioactive cesium, thus providing safe water.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Youngkyun Jung, the first author of the paper, says, “The principle of this material can be utilised to remove not only microplastics, but also a variety of contaminants in water systems.”

Article provided by National Research Council of Science and Technology.

Prussian blue, a metal-organic frameworks-based substance made by adding iron (III) chloride to a potassium ferrocyanide solution, is the first synthetic pigment used to dye jeans a deep blue colour.

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Plastic particles in bottled water

Researchers have developed an imaging technique that can detect nanoplastics in common single-use water bottles.

Plastics are a part of our everyday lives, and plastic pollution is a growing concern. When plastics break down over time, they can form smaller particles called microplastics. Microplastics, in turn, can break down into even smaller pieces called nanoplastics, which are less than 1 μm in size. Unable to be seen with the naked eye, these are small enough to enter the body’s cells and tissues.

Previous research has found evidence of plastic particles in human blood, lungs, gut, faeces, and reproductive tissues like the placenta and testes. But the potential health effects of these tiny plastic bits are still unproven and unknown. The small size of nanoparticles has made them especially difficult to detect and study.

To gain more insight into nanoplastics, a research team led by Drs. Wei Min and Beizhan Yan of Columbia University modified a powerful imaging technique that Wei Min co-invented 15 years ago with NIH support. The technique, called stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy, is now widely used to visualise small molecules in living cells. The method works by focusing two laser beams on samples to stimulate certain molecules to emit unique detectable light signals. Unlike many other methods, SRS microscopy does not depend on labeling specific molecules to find them.

For the new study, which was supported by NIH, the researchers developed a new SRS approach to detect micro- and nanoplastics at the single-particle level. After confirming that the technique could rapidly spot plastic particles smaller than 1 μm, they developed an algorithm based on machine learning to detect seven common types of plastic.

To test their new high-throughput imaging platform, the team analysed the micro- and nanoplastics in three popular brands of bottled water. Results were reported on January 8, 2024, in the  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The researchers found that, on average, a litre of bottled water included about 240,000 tiny pieces of plastic. About 90 percent of these plastic fragments were nanoplastics. This total was 10 to 100 times more plastic particles than seen in earlier studies, which mostly focused on larger microplastics.

The water contained particles of all seven types of plastic. The most common was polyamide, a type of nylon that’s often used to help filter and purify water. An abundance of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was also detected. This might

By Vicki Contie.

be expected, since PET is used to make bottles for water, soda, and many other drinks and foods. Other identified plastics included polyvinyl chloride, polymethyl methacrylate, and polystyrene, which is also used in water purification.

The method identified millions of additional particles that did not match the seven categories of plastic. It’s not yet clear if these tiny particles are nanoplastics or other substances.

The researchers say that this new technique will help to advance our understanding of human exposure to nanoplastics. “This opens a window where we can look into a plastic world that was not exposed to us before,” Beishan Yan says.

In the future, the researchers will apply this approach to analyse more environmental samples, such as tap water, indoor and outdoor air samples, and biological tissues. They are also developing filters that can reduce plastic pollution from laundry wastewater, since many fabrics include nylon, PET, and other plastics.

Article provided by National Institutes of Health

Designing water-efficient homes

Our resources are limited. As the population grows and the climate evolves, the urgency to build a net zero world intensifies. Across the built environment, a radical reduction in water, energy, and carbon usage is required for us to hope for a shared future that comes anywhere close to our current quality of life. We need to put the environment first, delivering sustainable homes at scale, reducing energy use, water demands and costs for occupants.

So when Fletcher Living embarked on a project to build four highly sustainable homes using seven times less carbon than a typical new build and 50 percent less water, Watercare leaned in to see what might be achieved by working together towards a more water efficient home.

LowCO in brief

LowCO is a low carbon, low energy, and low water use pilot built by Fletcher Living at Waiata Shores in Auckland. The main driver of the project was to design and build a home that would meet New Zealand’s available 1.5˚C carbon budget over 90 years through embodied and operational carbon reduction. Emissions from all phases of the construction process were considered. LowCO avoided or reduced use of carbon-intensive materials, found ways to improve building design efficiency, and incorporated clever technology and modern construction approaches.

In partnership with Watercare, the project also included a strong focus on water efficiency, recognising the connection between water and energy use at the micro (appliances, fixtures, water heating, irrigation) and macro level (water and wastewater treatment and

distribution). The project mirrored the ambitious water use target drafted by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment in its 2035 Building for Climate Change discussion document of 75 litres of water per person per day.

A serious challenge

Currently Watercare supplies the average residential Aucklander around 165 litres per day of drinking water. To more than halve water use, without compromising lifestyle, requires a step change in the way we design our homes.

As Fletcher Living head of sustainability Nicola Tagiston says, “We know that only a very small proportion of water in homes is actually consumed for drinking. The rest is used for showering, flushing toilets, watering gardens, washing clothes, and dishes. This brings attention to the opportunity to treat our precious water with a lot more respect and intelligence. If we can reduce our consumption through smart technologies, then everyone can benefit. We can build more sustainably; we can live more sustainably and make utility services more affordable.”

LowCO is a low carbon, low energy, and low water use pilot built by Fletcher Living at Waiata Shores in Auckland. Main image: LowCO House East Elevation.

LowCO is located in Waiata Shores, Auckland, on the former Manukau Golf Course.

In the terrace block, 250 litre ‘Aquacomb’ pods sit within an insulated floor slab that collect and store water from the roof. Each 4.5 metre wide unit has a generous 4,500 litres of storage.

The homes are a proof of concept and it is hoped that the project will serve as a strong evidence base for improvement in the way we understand the value of a residential home. The LowCO homes will be tenanted to allow Fletcher Living to closely monitor occupancy consumption attitudes and behaviour with internet of things (IoT) connected information systems that unlock deep home-user insights.

The homes cost more to build but will cost less to operate. But how can the value of the home be understood by potential buyers? Developers need to be able to highlight home performance in a market confused about environmental value, while local and central governments need to send signals about environmental concerns and economic and population growth amidst a variety of complex regional challenges.

LowCO will contribute to a better understanding of the costs and benefits of building sustainably in this complex context and will go some way to improve the maturity of how this value proposition plays out.

Innovations in water

Fletcher Living and Watercare searched the world for innovative domestic-scale water technologies. As a result of this, the design of the houses includes large water tanks, grey water recycling, water efficient fixtures and fittings, on-site water treatment, smart monitoring with an in-home supply and consumption dashboard, and drought resistant landscaping.

Water tanks: The house has a connected array of 250 litre ‘Aquacomb’ pods which collect and store water from the roof. In the home 8250 litres of water storage is located under the suspended timber floor. In the terrace block, pods sit within an insulated floor slab tallying a generous 4500 litres for each 4.5 metre wide unit.

Grey water recycling: By installing a greywater recycling system called Hydraloop, bath and shower water in the home is treated and lightly contaminated grey water is recycled back to flush toilets, one washing machine rinse cycle, and watering the vegetable garden.

Water efficient appliances, fixtures and fittings: With water heating the largest use of electricity in the average Kiwi home, LowCO has a heat pump hot water systems (this works like a fridge in reverse, capturing heat in the air and transferring it to the water). The advent of new refrigerant technology mean hot water heat pumps are becoming the obvious choice for energy efficiency.

Water efficient appliances and fittings were easy to source. This includes Fisher and Paykel’s 4.5-star WELS front loader washing machine and 10 star heat pump condensing dryer, 6-star WELS mixers, low flow showerheads paired with Felton’s thermostatic shower mixer, and 4-star WELS dual-flush toilets.

On-site water treatment: Rainwater from the water storage tanks is UV treated and carbon filtered for safe consumption for all household purposes. When combined with the use of the Hydraloop unit, it is possible to achieve an 82 percent reduction in water consumption compared to the Auckland average.

Smart monitoring: A real-time dashboard will show the people living in the home when and where their water comes from – mains, tanks, or the recycled grey water system. It will also show how much water is being used in a granular way,

When it counts.

including the cost and carbon consequence. Occupiers can take an active role in managing their water consumption, for example, by doing laundry when there is available water in the greywater tank. The monitoring system hopes to communicate in a way that significantly advances consumption literacy for people living in the homes.

Drought resistant landscaping: All plants selected for the LowCO garden have low irrigation requirements. Garden hose connections are fed from harvested greywater or rainwater. The front garden has an attractive, low maintenance meadow and impervious surfaces have reduced by 75 percent of a typical new build to minimise rainwater runoff.

Outcomes

LowCO met MBIE’s 2035 proposed caps in 2023, achieved a sevenfold reduction of embodied and operational carbon, and is on track to receive the New Zealand Green Building Council’s highest Homestar rating (HS10). It has been selected as an industry ‘Beacon’ by the Construction Sector Accord.

LowCO demonstrates that by being data-driven and applying a predictive modelling approach through the design phase, we can significantly influence carbon and water efficiency through a home’s lifetime. It illustrates a decarbonisation pathway for Fletcher Living, while providing industry with insights about the implications of tightening carbon and water caps.

The direction of urban development in Auckland will almost certainly require decentralised and centralised solutions to work

together to enable sustainable growth, and the role played by partnerships will be key. Reducing water use in the long term requires the support of major infrastructure. By identifying earlystage innovation opportunities to be scaled, our partnership has highlighted information gaps to be filled by research that will ultimately drive policy and provide a basis for collaborative leadership towards systemic change.

Through the direct innovation investment from Watercare, Fletcher Living has been able to showcase ready-to-deploy hightech water systems (drinking, recycled and rainwater) and gained more understanding about how to scale low carbon, water efficient solutions that reduce the draw of potable water and the discharge of wastewater to the network. Seeing private-side water saving initiatives become a physical reality has been enlightening for both parties, and it challenges some perceptions about ‘demand management’ of water.

The transformation to a low carbon future needs to be supported by strong and useful partnerships and a willingness to jointly embrace new and complex challenges. The LowCO home is a great example of this.

Article supplied by Watercare and Fletcher Living

Fletcher Living and Watercare searched the world for innovative domesticscale water technologies. As a result of this, the design of the houses includes large water tanks, grey water recycling, water efficient fixtures and fittings, on-site water treatment, smart monitoring with an in-home supply and consumption dashboard, and drought resistant landscaping.

Design features of the Fletcher LowCO home.

DISCOVER THE OF WATER MANAGEMENT FUTURE

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

UV LED technology in municipal water treatment

The municipal water disinfection market has evolved significantly in the past few decades. Ultraviolet (UV) technology employing traditional mercury-vapour lamps now provide fast and effective large-scale disinfection for water treatment plants. However, with increasing concerns and stricter regulations over the potentially devastating health and environmental impact of mercury, the market is shifting towards alternative technologies.

The emergence of light-emitting diode (LED) UV technology has the potential to reshape the future of water disinfection. Unlike mercury-vapour lamps, UV LEDs do not contain hazardous materials and also boast significant operational and maintenance benefits.

In a landmark move, the Las Vegas Valley Water District (LVVWD) in Nevada, USA, installed a UV LED system, specifically designed for municipal water treatment, in early 2022 and subsequently installed a further five systems in 2023.

The desert oasis that is Las Vegas is well known for its bright lights and boundless possibilities, making it perhaps the ideal place to pioneer using UV LED disinfection on a municipal scale. LVVWD, within the regional purview of the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA), provides water services to over a million people and is renowned for its innovative solutions to modern water challenges.

SNWA’s Water Quality Research and Development Centre is dedicated to enhancing the quality of drinking water and conducts rigorous testing and evaluation of new water treatment methods. According to SNWA project manager Ariel Atkinson, “delivering the highest quality water we possibly can means going above and beyond what is conventional”.

In an effort to mitigate the risks

associated with mercury lamps, UV LED research and development has been advancing rapidly. LEDs offer many potential advantages such as unlimited on-off cycling, no warm-up time, adaptable UV system geometries, lower maintenance interventions and potentially decreased operational costs.

Traditional mercury-based UV water treatment systems present several operational challenges, as well as environmental risks. Maintaining these systems is time-consuming and requires adherence to strict safety protocols. Additionally, mercury lamps emit light and heat from the same surface, which can lead to heat-induced surface fouling

and complications in maintaining optimal operating temperatures.

Disposal of used mercury lamps is a hot topic following the ratification of The United Nations Minamata Convention in 2017, which restricts the use of mercury in products. The Convention seeks to raise public awareness about the environmental and health dangers of mercury, control mercury supply and trade, and reduce the use, emission, and release of mercury. The current efforts to end primary mercury mining by 2032 serve as a driving force to expand alternative mercury-free solutions.

In early 2022, SNWA and LVVWD commissioned a new large-scale UV

Above: In a landmark move, the Las Vegas Valley Water District (LVVWD) in Nevada, USA, installed a UV LED system, specifically designed for municipal water treatment, in early 2022 and subsequently installed a further five systems in 2023.

Left: Municipal UV LED water disinfection.

LED water disinfection system based primarily on sustainability drivers, reduced contamination risk of the distribution network and literature supporting their efficiency in Legionella inactivation.

LVVWD chose a platform developed to handle the water volume and environmental conditions of an outdoor municipal water treatment plant. The PearlAqua Tera platform by AquiSense offered operational benefits specific to LEDs, including mercury-free operation, automatic on/off switching, and low maintenance and ownership costs.

“We were approached by the Las Vegas Valley Water District as they wanted to do a study using traditional mercury technology and LED technology together and to evaluate the two,” says AquiSense CEO Oliver Lawal.

The first UV-led system was installed at a groundwater well within LVVWD, and its performance and operation were compared to a conventional mercury UV reactor.

“The UV LED reactor worked just as well as a conventional reactor with mercury-based lamps but with the benefit of not having mercury-based technology,” says Ariel. Additionally, electronic lamp drivers can be housed in the same assembly, eliminating the need for an additional ballast cabinet and interconnecting cabling. This reduces the system’s footprint, installation complexity, and cost.

Maintenance of a UV LED system is simpler than traditional UV water treatment systems. Instead of handling delicate, expensive, and potentially unsafe mercury lamps, operators only need to replace a part similar in size to a computer chip. This streamlined maintenance process saves time and reduces potential exposure to hazardous materials.

“So far six municipal UV LED systems have been installed in Las Vegas, with another five systems delivered for both drinking water and wastewater applications in the USA, Canada, Japan,

and India. These systems are designed to treat flow rates between 315 to 1500 cubic metres per hour (2 to 9.5 MGD) and utilise UV dose values ranging from 20 to 40 mJ/cm 2

Aquisense says the successful installations of the system in the Las Vegas Valley is a testament to the potential of UV LED technology in municipal water treatment. The system’s operational benefits, together with pending third party validation in accordance with US EPA disinfection guidelines, make it a promising solution for the water treatment industry globally.

For New Zealand, where environmental sustainability and water resource management are significant concerns, Aquisense says UV LED technology presents an exciting opportunity. “Adopting this technology could revolutionise the nation’s water treatment processes, providing a safer, more efficient, and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional methods.”

Article provided by Aquisense

Lessons from across the ditch

By John Hamill, managing director, Chronotope Consulting

The National Party’s water policy ‘Local Water Done Well’ puts the ownership and responsibility for the management of water services squarely back with local government. The policy does not end there.

While the Three Waters legislation is currently being repealed, Local Water Done Well acknowledges the urgent need for action and accountability in the process of handing ownership back to local government. It commits to establishing an economic regulator within the Commerce Commission and to implement a form of information disclosure regulation under Part 4 of the Commerce Act.

The policy also indicates that local government entities will need to develop proposals to put to government to demonstrate that the water services are financially sustainable within a year of repealing the Three Waters legislation.

In the context of the National Party policy, financial sustainability is defined as:

• Revenue sufficiency – Water services earn sufficient revenues, either directly from users or from rates, to cover maintenance and depreciation of infrastructure.

• Ringfencing – Water services stand on their own two feet and do not put pressure on funding for other council services.

• Funding for growth – Water services can access borrowing to invest in infrastructure wherever users are willing to pay the cost of services.

Irrespective of how this plays out in practice it suggests there will be significant work to put this in place for many operators of water services.

The policy is the beginning of an important process to create transparency and accountability in the delivery of water services; a core pre-requisite for ensuring that there is sufficient investment to maintain and deliver services for the future.

This is an implicit connection between the concept of an information disclosure regime under Part 4 of the Commerce Act and the kind of ‘lower bound’ pricing implied in the financial viability test in the Local Water Done Well policy.

To demonstrate financial viability and to meet information disclosure requirements, service providers are likely to need, as a minimum:

• Clear service performance and quality standards to meeting community expectations and regulatory requirements;

• Clear capital and operating expenditure plans;

• Robust demand forecasts;

• An agreed Regulatory Asset Base (including a value accepted by the regulator); and

• Separate regulatory accounts, including justifiable methodologies for allocating common costs, and calculating allowances for depreciation, the cost of debt, and taxation.

The good news is that there are precedents for the technical aspects of implementing the core elements of regulatory pricing. Price monitoring under Part 4 of the Commerce Act has been in place for small regional electricity distribution businesses for some time. Accounting separation has a well-trodden (if fraught) history in telecommunications.

The bad news is that the implementation of input methodologies can be a painstaking formal process involving significant technical debate and can result in highly prescribed rules. This reflects the history of Part 4 of the Commerce Act, which was introduced to resolve disputes between the Commerce Act and electricity lines companies about contentious topics like asset valuation and the cost of capital. Part 4 was in place to both provide investment certainty for the regulated businesses – but also to deal with public concerns about gold plating. It resulted in extensive (and expensive) litigation and merits appeals.

Implementing Local Water

The successful and speedy delivery of reform in the New Zealand water sector will need alignment on objectives and approach between policy makers, infrastructure owners, service delivery agencies and regulators. While there are superficial similarities between water services and electricity lines companies (both are natural monopolies and involve networks) there are substantial structural and cultural differences between the sectors.

Water services are typically vertically integrated and ideally have a direct relationship with the customer. The culture of the water sector has a significant and important history in supporting the health of the community and the environment. Economic regulation will be new to the sector at a time when there will also be significant front line operational challenges for the service providers.

This strategy context means that urgent priorities will be for:

• Local government to establish strong governance and leadership that puts customer or community value at the core of what it is doing and is committed to ensuring effective investment to support long-term needs of the community;

• Open and honest engagement with the community and Māori about the role and performance of water services;

• Robust prioritisation of critical service obligations;

• Discipline and focus on the design, build, operation, and management of services;

• Pragmatic price quality regulation that provides easy to follow regulatory rules, templates and practical guidance and promotes effective engagement with customers and the community; and

• Effective enforcement from Taumata Arowai where there is a failure to appropriately manage and deliver service.

All of these will need significant professional and technical support to deliver.

Lessons from across the ditch

You should always design your policy and regulatory solutions to meet the unique needs of the specific context for your reforms. But it’s always helpful to understand how others have developed their approach to reform.

As a New Zealander living in Australia, the contrast between the two countries on the role of water and water utilities is stark.

Water really matters in Australia. Living on the edge of a desert will do that for you. Water bills are the norm because they send price signals directly to customers – enabling customers to reduce the bill costs by conserving water. Price quality regulation of mainly state-owned entities is also the norm in most states (water is a state responsibility under the Australian constitution) and there are approaches that range from full price quality regulation to light handed monitoring.

Some of the key features of the regulatory regimes for water in Australia are at the cutting edge of economic regulatory thinking around the world. This includes reforms that have had a significant impact on the performance and reputation of the sector – for the better.

Examples of how price quality regulation in Australia have involved include:

• The development of incentives that reward broad and deep customer engagement, and ambition for great performance –delivering significant efficiency gains;

• Increased alignment between Boards and regulatory objectives and the avoidance of regulatory gaming by incentivising the “best offer” in the price review process;

• Price reviews focus on the development of regulatory business cases that seek to bring together customer and regulatory objectives, demand forecasts, pricing and other matters in an integrated package that aims to demonstrate the prudency and efficiency of the regulated business’s price proposal;

• Regulators providing pragmatic guidance two years in advance of a price review process that represent incremental improvements in the approach to reflect contemporary concerns (e.g. engagement with First Nations, dealing with climate change, integrating short medium and long-term planning); and

• The core building blocks model of pricing is the default but is not the core focus of the price review process.

John Hamill is a New Zealander based in Melbourne. From 2016 – 2023, John was CEO of the Essential Services Commission of Victoria where he was responsible for the economic regulation of water corporations in Victoria. Prior to this, he was general manager, regulation at the Commerce Commission and was responsible for implementation of price quality regulation under Part 4 of the Commerce Act, and regulation of telecommunications and dairy. If you want to contact John about water policy and regulation, email john@chronotope.com.au.

For the future of Rarotonga

Prior to the commissioning of Rarotonga’s 10 new water treatment plants at the end of 2021 and completion of the reticulation upgrade works in 2023, the island was served by a water supply system that tended to be village focused, with no treatment, and generally no reliable way to transfer water from one area to another.

The original system was in poor condition, quite unreliable, had little resilience, and had very little water storage.

The project of Te Mato Vai changed this for residents and the huge number of tourists that visit the island nation. The purpose of Te Mato Vai was to replace Rarotonga’s ageing water network, improve storage and introduce treatment to provide a reliable and safe water supply.

It was one of the largest and most important projects ever to be undertaken in the Cook Islands and it was a major development initiative, mostly due to the support and guidance of the firstever tripartite agreement between the Governments of the Cook Islands, New Zealand, and the People’s Republic of China.

The project fulfilled a vital component of the Cook Islands National Sustainable Development Plan and complements a range of work underway in the renewable energy, tourism, education, health, transport, and economic sectors – all designed to provide a more prosperous

future for the Cook Islands, and particularly the main island of Rarotonga.

At the heart of the project was an extensive overhaul of the infrastructure that collects and distributes water throughout Rarotonga. Te Mato Vai established a new round-island pipe network and significantly upgraded 10 of the island’s 12 water intake sites, introducing treatment facilities, bulk storage facilities, and bulk metering, which are used to monitor and manage demand more effectively.

In collaboration with the Cook Islands Government, GHD worked on various aspects of the project, including contract documentation and supervision, environmental assessments, water treatment advice, public consultation and community education.

In the later stages GHD ran the Project Management Unit (PMU) that was heavily involved with funder reporting, project administration and extensive community consultation with residents and landowners. Scott Cairney, project director at GHD says, “How often do you get the

opportunity to provide treated water for an entire island of people? We have achieved so much.”

GHD’s involvement also included the set-up and capability-building for the newly formed Water company, To Tatou Vai, a state-owned authority that manages and maintains the upgraded water system.

The legacy for Rarotonga

For the first time ever, communities living in Rarotonga, as well as the tourists who visit the island, now have access to clean, treated water. The project has also encouraged more responsible water consumption and will hopefully inspire future communities to continue the great work of Te Mato Vai.

Peter Free, project director (GHD) for the PMU says, “when I go back to the island, I drive along the Airport Road and past the To Tatou Vai offices and it just looks successful, it looks organised. They’re doing it for themselves, you know. That’s the legacy.”

Article supplied by GHD

The Ōpōtiki harbour development team halfway through the cut.

The purpose of Te Mato Vai was to replace Rarotonga’s ageing water network, improve storage and introduce treatment to provide a reliable and safe water supply.

Opposite: Te Mato Vai established a new round-island pipe network and significantly upgraded 10 of the island’s 12 water intake sites, introducing treatment facilities, bulk storage facilities, and bulk metering, which are used to monitor and manage demand more effectively.

Dreaming BIG

Josh Irvine, work group manager at WSP, recently returned from the USA and Scandinavia where, as a recipient of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship 2022, he spent seven weeks looking into different water management practices, perspectives and approaches.

My key focus was connecting with likeminded individuals and organisations, to explore best practice related to flood risk management, green infrastructure, and stream management and to share these learnings with New Zealand industry.

My travels got me thinking; where do we stand in terms of its practice in water management? If we dared to dream, what would we need to do to be the world leader?

Waterfront area in Copenhagen.

It may not be everyone’s desire to be the best and, in a lot of situations, good is often good enough. But when it comes to our environment and health, we need to do a better job of managing our water resources and I believe we can easily do that.

What are our strengths?

We have the makings to be the best in the world in water management. In some areas we already are or are at least in the leading pack. However, there’s large variability in standards and approaches to water management across the country. That’s the first hurdle to overcome. I hope that positive changes to the water industry here are the catalyst to provide this consistency, while still reflecting geographical differences, and bring all practices up to the same high standard.

Several factors position us to be world leaders in water management:

Our Māori culture – there is strong advocacy from Māori to raise the bar in terms of water and environment outcomes. Greater use of indigenous values, knowledge, guardianship, and wisdom are leading us to better water management practices. Considerations like Te Mana o te Wai and ki uta ki tai are pivotal in steering the industry and our communities to better stewardship and a flourishing environment.

Our geography – no matter where you live in New Zealand, water-related hazards are never far from mind. Flooding is our most common and impactful natural hazard, and we need to become leaders in avoiding and mitigating its worst impacts. We’re also not immune to water scarcity issues. As a natural laboratory, we have an opportunity to innovate and lead new approaches to addressing this issue.

Our nature – we are universally recognised as one of the world’s most beautiful countries. Pre-Covid, tourism was our country’s biggest export industry, and it relies on maintaining and restoring this natural beauty. While our ‘clean, green and 100 percent pure’ mantra may not always reflect reality, it’s engrained in many Kiwis. Culturally, we have a love of the outdoors and nature, and typically our holidays are based around it.

Our country – we are a modern, welleducated, and highly developed country with money to invest and the opportunity to adapt our practices. We have one of the lowest population densities in the world

Depressed basketball court for stormwater attenuation in Enghaveparken, Copenhagen.

Dynamic tool to visualise the impact of sea level rise in Denmark at the Klimatorium in Lemvig.

Flood column in Ribe, Denmark, erected in 1922, is a reminder of historic flood levels, including the highest ring from the 1634 flood.

WATER NEW ZEALAND WATER MANAGEMENT

and therefore the potential for less stress on our natural environment. Due to our size and young history, we can be nimble and quick to adapt, and we have fewer longstanding water related issues to deal with. Culturally we have a No.8 Wire, doit-yourself, innovative mentality, which needs to be harnessed.

We need to build on our strengths and supplement them with a focus on areas that we can improve on, including learning from others around the world – especially where things haven’t gone well – with their and our own context in mind.

We need to re-connect people to water so it’s valued; we need to develop strong research centres locally and strengthen ties with international institutions; we need to raise awareness of the water issues and the positive benefits that world leading water management will provide; and we need to globally publicise the great work that we do to attract talent and collaborate for the mutual sharing of knowledge.

Historically, we have proudly led the world in many important areas – from women’s suffrage, to a minimum wage, to our nuclear free stance. Today, we’re regarded as one of the least corrupt, easiest countries to do business in –not to mention one of the world’s most peaceful nations and boasting one of the top airlines and rugby teams in the world. We can become global leaders in

water management too. I strongly believe we can and should aim for that.

I’m excited to share more of what I’ve learned with the industry in future articles and presentations. In the meantime, if you’re on board with this vision and are keen to hear more, let me know.

Josh will be sharing his learnings at the Stormwater Conference in May.

Swimming lanes on Oslo’s waterfront.

Daylighted stream at Ensjøbyen, Oslo.

BIOGENIC CORROSION IS A BILLION DOLLAR THREAT

Sewer pipes and wastewater treatment plants are an unglamorous but critical asset to society. Keeping pollutants out of the environment, they safeguard human life and form an essential part of the infrastructure we all depend on.

However, the corrosive and infectious fluids they corral safely away from us also attack the construction materials that contain them. This is biogenic corrosion. So what causes the problem, and how big a threat is it?

More accurately described as ‘biogenic sulphide corrosion’, it is caused by naturally occurring bacteria that generate hydrogen sulphide gas. Humid, enclosed spaces such as wastewater structures provide ideal conditions for this process.

In the USA alone, corrosion is causing sewer asset losses estimated at $14 billion per year. This cost is expected to increase as the aging infrastructure continues to fail. In New Zealand we face a similar threat to the environment from aging wastewater assets, which require serious ongoing investment.

The obvious solution would appear to be specialised coatings to protect the concrete exposed to such relentless attack. But this turns out to be harder than it first appears.

Almost all products are designed to use their own ability to resist mineral acids to provide a seamless layer of protection over the underlying concrete structure. However movement, abrasion and even long-term weathering of these systems cause them to fail over time (sometimes as little as 18 months), leaving the underlying concrete vulnerable to biogenic attack.

Only SewperCoat® passes the biogenic corrosion test, because it works in quite a different way. Based on calcium alumininate cements and aggregates (CAC), this patented concrete product was developed in France to address the vulnerability of polymer-based systems. Because it is a 100% CAC mortar, it avoids the issues of

corrosion spreading once the initial barrier is breached.

SewperCoat’s outstanding durability in the most severe sewer environments relies on the unique ‘bacterio-static effect’ of calcium aluminates. Even if cracks form in the overlying SewperCoat layer, it still provides protection to the substrate.

As a cementitious material SewperCoat offers a significant advantage over all other repair options, as it can be applied in wet and damp conditions when other systems need dry environmentally stable conditions. This has been an important consideration on many of the projects Contech has undertaken where short windows of opportunity of repair and live sewer conditions mean that achieving perfect application conditions for a traditional coating would be an impossible requirement.

Contech is the sole New Zealand distributor of SewperCoat. We have investigated its capabilities and implemented SewperCoat repairs in many high-profile wastewater assets. In our opinion, it is the most appropriate material to mitigate the risk of biogenic corrosion in New Zealand’s critical wastewater management systems.

For more information or expert advice on your concrete projects contact contech.co.nz

Contech is New Zealand’s leading concrete engineering company. Our specialist team have over 60 years of unmatched experience in concrete repair and remediation.

OPC Concrete OPC & SF Mix Sewpercoat

Samples after 6 years exposure in WWTP

Watching Tauranga’s water for good

Building on their award-winning paper presented at last year’s Water New Zealand Conference & Expo, Peter Bahrs, manager water services, Tauranga City Council, and Ryan Orr technical director – water, GHD, recognised the need for the industry to address the complexities of water supply, especially during increasingly hot summers. Reflecting on Tauranga City Council’s Water Watchers Plan, they share valuable lessons learned from navigating immediate issues and preparing for future challenges.

Tauranga City Council (TCC) has been on a water conservation journey for over 25 years, with a key milestone being the introduction of universal metering between 2000 and 2002. This resulted in an initial reduction in water demand, with peak usage dropping by approximately 30 percent and average usage by 25 percent. As a result, water restrictions were not required for the following 17 years, delaying the need for significant capital investment.

Through combined efforts of metering and TCC’s waterline programme, which includes water education in schools and free minor leak repairs, consumption continued to reduce. The 2021/2022 Water New Zealand National Performance Review reported an average consumption in Tauranga of 435 litres per connection per day, lower than the median of 667 litres per connection per day.

However, Tauranga experienced a 19.1 percent increase in population between 2013 and 2018, leading to a rise in total water

demand, triggering reinstatement of water restrictions in the summer of 2017/2018 through to summer 2020 to protect the city’s water treatment capacity from being overwhelmed while the new Waiari Scheme was being constructed.

Early spring 2021/2022 marked a turning point. The springfed streams that had supplied raw water for over 30 years faced reductions in base flow. As a result, abstraction limits became the factor limiting TCC’s ability to supply water. This highlighted that a water source reliability issue was looming and that even though the city had a water demand of 65 percent of the national average, further measures were required to ensure continuity of water supply for the community.

Building a case for change

The first step in initiating change was to articulate the need to key internal stakeholders. Fortunately, the water operations team at TCC had built trust with senior management over the years via open communication on technical issues and reliable delivery. The need for change was outlined in a compelling case supported by a solid body of evidence. This included proposing a range of plausible future scenarios and potential interventions.

Part of establishing the case for change was predicting the likely summer stream flow. A traditional groundwater model was unable to be built and calibrated in the time available, therefore stochastic

models of Tauranga’s spring-fed streams were built in a matter of weeks by GHD Digital.

A model of the Tautau Stream (the source of main concern) proved to be a good fit and was used to predict stream base flows for the summer months of 2021/2022. This prediction, unfortunately, was for flows to remain at very low levels, confirming the need for TCC to invest in interventions over and above traditional water restrictions.

Devising a new water restrictions approach

GHD and TCC devised a new approach and, given that water shortages have been a long-standing issue, drew inspiration from successful strategies employed elsewhere, particularly GHD’s Australian experience.

The key learnings included:

• Having a clear plan with restriction implementation times set in advance is crucial. Particularly important is providing sufficient time for communication and community education and buy-in prior to peaks in demand.

• Drawing from Australian examples, restrictions should extend beyond outdoor water use. This ensures fair distribution of water-saving responsibilities, while keeping water conservation front of mind.

• Long-term behaviour change is observed when multiple years

Tautau Stream

of year-round restrictions gradually changed behaviours, better preparing people for the future.

• Positive messaging, using a shared responsibility narrative over directives and penalties, was key to getting the community on board.

• An exemption process worked with certain water users, allowing for alternative approaches to reduce usage and minimise negative impacts.

These learnings, coupled with the previous four years of traditional restrictions in Tauranga, helped formulate the Water Watchers Plan, which was launched in late 2021.

The plan was designed to apply water restrictions to high water use activities at work, in the community and at home.

It divided the year into four water conservation periods to maintain consistent messaging and shift water use outside of peak times where possible. It included a ‘Smart Water Plan’ exemption process, acknowledging that complying with restrictions could negatively impact people and businesses; this provided flexibility to work with customers that could save water using alternative methods, enabling mutually beneficial outcomes.

Putting the plan into action

The power of the community was one of the key learnings from prior restrictions in Tauranga. We applied the principle that ‘if we all contribute, there will be enough water for everyone’ to unite the community response.

To educate the public, we worked with TCC’s communications team to rebrand water restrictions to Water Watchers, coupled with refreshing TCC’s web pages; develop a simple ‘plan on a page’ for delivery to all homes in Tauranga (called the At Home Plan); develop engaging collateral and utilise a range of digital media platforms to promote the plan to the community; and work with mainstream media to promote on local radio and in various publications.

Having restriction periods set in advance meant that we were able to develop a clear and timely communications plan.

Did it work?

Yes! In the summer of 2021/2022, the Water Watchers Plan achieved an estimated 14 percent reduction in demand versus unrestricted uses.

However, the highlight was the awareness that the Water Watchers Plan created in the community and the positive outcomes generated through collaborative efforts, with TCC’s top 10 customers and over 106 other residents and/or businesses on Smart Water Plans. This has led to long-term savings through behaviour change, including businesses installing rain tanks and developing water efficient work methodologies, retirement villages scheduling house washing outside of summer periods, and the Port of Tauranga undertaking a significant water demand reduction programme, which included banning the washing of non-essential plant, turning off its car wash facility, transitioning several non-

Taking care of the 3 Waters now and for generations to come

potable water uses to bore water, and partnering with tenants to save water.

Since the summer of 2019/20, prior to the introduction of the Water Watchers Plan, there has been a decline of over 12 percent in peak water demand during the current summer (23/24). A key example of the advantages of collaborating with some of council’s largest customers is the Port of Tauranga, which reduced their water usage by approximately 36 percent.

Key lessons relevant to water suppliers

Don’t reinvent the wheel: There is great information available from countries like Australia that have been managing water shortages for years which can be used as a starting point.

Walk the talk: As an industry, we can’t ask our communities to save water if our organisations aren’t. TCC had been on this journey for many years, taking steps to reduce consumption in its own operations before asking the community to follow suit. For example, TCC’s leakage rate is about 16.6 percent, and the majority of parks and reserves use non-potable water for irrigation. Other council activities were subject to the Water Watchers Plan restrictions, earning public approval.

Educate for change without alarm: We believe that ‘making’ people save water, or creating alarm with suggestions of running out of water is not the most effective communication approach. The success of the Water Watchers Plan shows that a ‘carrot’ rather than ‘stick’ approach

can lead to good outcomes with less pain for everyone.

Don’t waste a good crisis: Crises can present opportunities to change community behaviours. This situation enabled implementation of broader restrictions and greater commitment, setting the basis for long term behavioural change.

Focus on the purpose of potable water supply: Keep it simple. When setting rules and reviewing exemption applications, we focused on the guiding principle: ‘Is this a good use of drinking water?’ This helped us understand how much time, energy and cost goes into providing it.

Embrace water conservation: Although water conservation efforts may initially impact water revenue and require budgetary changes, they offer numerous long-term benefits. These include financial savings through the postponement of new infrastructure, improved water resource management and ecological sustainability.

Prioritising water conservation is essential for securing reliable water supplies for future generations, while protecting the health of ecosystems and communities.

As with water metering, the Water Watchers programme has become a milestone in TCC’s water conservation journey and has set a new benchmark for water demand.

However, TCC isn’t stopping there. Recently, the Water Watchers Plan has been incorporated into a wider programme called The Tauranga Water Conservation Project, aimed at supporting Tauranga to become a truly water efficient city.

Integrated Ultrasonic Water Meters

Innovative solutions to addressing leaks and water losses

By Andreas Heuser, managing director, Castalia

The water sector challenges need fast, proven solutions to deal with serious leaks and network defects. Leaks in our largest cities have necessitated water restrictions. Vulnerabilities in case of civil emergencies are becoming apparent. Water sector leaders know they need strategies to reduce water losses now. One proven strategy is the use of performance-based contracts for water loss reduction (WL-PBCs).

WL-PBCs operate on a simple yet effective principle: they link the compensation of specialised service contractors directly to the loss reduction achieved. PBCs incentivise efficiency and innovation, ensuring water losses are reduced in smart and cost-effective ways.

The three key models are: Fixed-Price Model, where contractors are paid a fixed sum for achieving specific loss reduction targets; Shared Savings Model, which has contractors earn a percentage of the cost savings resulting from reduced water loss; and a Hybrid Model, which combines elements of both, offering flexibility and balanced risk.

Firms offering this specialist service include VINCI, Veolia, Suez and Miya. Their experts work with the utility’s management team to devise the optimal strategy and implement it. Physical works are typically carried out by local contractors.

Benefits of water loss reduction

Where water shortage threatens, loss reduction is often the quickest and cheapest solution. Loss reduction also makes sense when shortage is not threatening. Lowering water losses brings down electricity and chemical costs.

Less appreciated but even more important are the capital expenditure savings. International evidence shows that a dollar spent on reducing losses in the network often saves two dollars or more of capital expenditure on water abstraction and treatment.

At one time or another Dublin, Thames Water (London and surroundings), Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Sao Paulo, the Bahamas, and various French municipalities have gone for performance-based contracts for loss reduction.

In Dublin, it was because of a severe water shortage and 40 percent losses of treated water. In Manila it was to avoid swingeing regulatory penalties. In the Bahamas, the main focus was cutting costs. All these utilities found that the contractual approach delivered results faster than they had been able to achieve themselves.

A comprehensive analysis from the World Bank shows that contractual approaches are typically 68 percent more effective than utilities’ in-house efforts as Graph 1 illustrates.

Complementary to demand management

NRW-PBCs complement rather than replace demand-side management. A holistic approach is needed. Consumer metering helps enormously with demand management, giving a financial incentive to save water. Metering also helps in quantifying network losses and (in combination with district metering) where in the network losses are occurring. Volumetric and other consumption-focused tariff designs can also

incentivise water conservation and efficient usage.

Water conservation education should also be ramped-up to increase community engagement and support.

When and how to implement

When deciding on whether a WL-PBC will help, there is a process to follow. The first question to address is whether loss reduction is needed. Loss reduction will typically be a priority where water shortages are a risk, or where investment in new abstraction and treatment is planned and losses are above 20 percent. If in doubt, specialist firms can help to estimate the economic level of leakage – if losses are above this level, investment in loss reduction is advisable.

If loss reduction makes economic sense, the next question is whether to outsource it on a performance-based contract or to use more traditional utility-directed methods. The considerations here are whether utility staff have the skills and motivation to reduce losses. If they do, in-house methods may be successful. If not, outsourcing on a performance-basis may be the winning strategy.

Designing and procuring a performance-based contract is a specialised task. Useful guidance can be found in the World Bank’s toolkit. Even so, utilities going down this path for the first time will benefit from specialised advice.

Process for determining if WL-PBC is useful.

Graph 1: Performance-based contracts vs. utility (in-house) average annual loss reduction (litres/connection/day).

Helping save endangered native fish

NIWA has developed a photarium using the latest 3D printing technology to more safely identify and measure fish species that live in our waterways

According to Statistics NZ, 76 percent of the 51 indigenous freshwater fish species in New Zealand are threatened with extinction or at risk of becoming threatened, so education, data and research are critical to understanding how better to identify, protect and sustainably manage these species.

Photariums are indispensable tools used by photographers, researchers, and educators around the world to safely observe live fish in the field, but they are currently only made in the United States and do not ship here.

NIWA freshwater ecologist Peter Williams took matters into his own hands. He developed his own photarium and is producing it easily and affordably using a new industrial grade 3D printer NIWA recently acquired.

“An older 3D printer would have only produced a prototype quality unit and we would have needed a costly specialist manufacturer to make the finished product. NIWA’s new 3D printer is more advanced and allows us to produce a quality product at low cost which means its accessible to those who need it here.”

A photarium (photo + aquarium) is a small plastic rectangular box, with a clear side and built-in ruler. It allows small fish to be studied without being handled or taken out of the water. It also has a hinged flap to block out light and give the fish privacy to reduce stress during transportation.

Peter designed the NIWA photarium based on his 14 years of field experience and has been able to adapt and modify it for sampling small fish species in our waterways.

“Many of our native species are climbing fish and the top part of the lid can be closed to stop the fish from jumping out. A mesh that’s printed into this hatch cover allows us to top up the water level for better photography.

“The beauty of the 3D printer is it allows

NIWA to produce photariums on demand and to keep improving our design based on what we discover while using them in the field.”

The NIWA photarium improves the accuracy of fish identification. It allows collection and release with minimum handling, and without the use of anaesthetics, which if not done properly can lead to mortality in the fish. It enables

small and delicate life stages of fish to be accurately observed and photographed without harming the fish.

Given its success in improving the accuracy of fish identification and photography, NIWA has already had over 70 orders for its photarium from regional councils, rūnanga, DOC, and education groups across the country.

Article provided by NIWA

India Hamill (Marlborough District Council) holds a Lamprey & elver photarium being used to measure a lamprey larva during a monitoring methods training workshop led by former NIWA freshwater ecologist Emily White.

NIWA fish & macroinvertebrate photarium being modelled by Andre Magdich (HBRC) during a NIWA and Australasian Fish Passage Services Design masterclass in Hamilton. Inset: NIWA Fish & macroinvertebrate photarium being used to ID two bully species.

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. www.adriley.co.nz

From sanctuary to sea

Kia Mouriora te Kaiwharawhara

Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne has provided a sanctuary for the capital city’s native bird population since 1999 when an ambitious plan erecting a pest-proof fence around a bush-clad Wellington water reservoir was completed. As well as providing a safe home for threatened and vulnerable birds, the project has had a huge impact on re-populating much of the city’s gardens and parks with native birds. Now work is well underway on an even more ambitious plan – a 100 year vision to connect the sanctuary to the sea by restoring forest and freshwater ecosystems as closely as possible to pre-human state. Project lead Dr Nathaniel Lennon Rigler Siguenza explains.

One of the perks of working at Zealandia

Te Māra a Tāne is the lunch breaks. Since beginning this role in August of last year, I’ve paced out the perfect 30-minute return walk into the ecosanctuary from my desk. There’s a number of short tracks to choose from, but my favourite is the one that hugs closest to Roto Kawau, one of two retired reservoirs inside Zealandia’s mammal exclusion fence. Roto Kawau, which once provided for Wellington’s freshwater needs, now provides a refuge for native fish and self-introduced kawau or shags for which the lake is named.

Roto Kawau, along with Roto Māhanga deeper into the valley, are headwaters of the Kaiwharawhara catchment – the largest subcatchment in Wellington and the only one in our capital city with an open estuary connected to the harbour.

Te Māhanga Stream meanders from these two reservoirs, above and underground, through multiple suburbs until it blends with the Korimako Stream which itself flows from the southern slopes of Mount Kaukau, the highest summit of the city.

The Kaiwharawhara whaitua or catchment is significantly regarded by mana whenua, Taranaki Whānui te Upoko o te Ika, as a once abundant mahinga kai or resource gathering place. The Kaiwharawhara is named for the edible wharawhara plant (Astelia banksii) which would have towered above heads in ancient podocarp forests.

Like so many other places in Aotearoa New Zealand, these forests were cleared

for grazing within the past century and a half. In the Kaiwharawhara, much of these pastures have since been replaced by urban dwellings and hard infrastructure for the whaitua’s near 40,000 residents. The entire landscape has undergone massive ecological shifts in a relatively short period of time. Things are out of balance here.

I imagine the shelter of old growth forests during my exposed lunchtime walk through the sanctuary. I take note of the species variation in the regenerative bush on both sides of the track: mātai, kahikatea, rātā, rimu; none much taller than myself currently but all with great ambition to grasp the sky. I wonder what this landscape will look like in five hundred years’ time?

I’m aware that most people visit Zealandia for the birds, but I have come

on this walk for the fish. The removal of introduced Eurasion perch from the lower reservoir in 2021 has resulted in an explosion of life with flow-on effects further down the whaitua. Last year there were innumerable dragonflies. This year there are hundreds, if not thousands, of banded kōkopu.

I briskly pace over the pontoon walkway and squeeze through a crowd of visitors huddled like paparazzi around a pair of celebrity takahē. I nod towards a family of pāteke nestled in the wetland as I enter the first section of sheltered bush. Inside here, I take a moment above a small boardwalk that bridges over the stream. This, I have learned, is the best location to observe banded kōkopu swimming against bending ripples shaped by white spongecovered greywacke rock and submerged black mamaku fronds.

Of all the places I could go, this is the spot that I find most powerful. It is here that I am reminded first hand that nature nurtures and enhances itself when given the opportunity. But that’s the key learning here – it must be given the opportunity.

There is no doubt that the Kaiwharawhara whaitua has immense potential to reclaim the abundant biodiversity it once cradled. But like so many whaitua in densely populated landscapes, the Kaiwharawhara is maimed by historic degradation and ongoing disrespect. Contaminated stormwater runoff, sewage leaks, invasive species, and piped streams through sealed landfill

Dr Nathaniel Lennon Rigler Siguenza

zones all tax the mouri or lifeforce. It is hard to see a cherished place ailing.

To be clear, this isn’t to say that the problem is the presence of people. People are never innately the problem. Such thinking is dangerous, historically misinformed, and sabotages an optimistic approach necessary to instil positive environmental change.

People have always had a place in their environment, albeit in different ways. For mana whenua, it is to be kaitiaki or guardians, to defend the intrinsic mana of this whaitua and, if necessary, to make this case in court. For me, an immigrant without generational roots to this place, it is a bit more complicated. As manuhiri to this whenua, my role is to support, facilitate, and connect, and this too holds immense power and responsibility. Everyone has a part to play to ensure the health of the Kaiwharawhara—its awa, its ngahere, and its tāngata. And we are taking action to do so.

In 2017, Zealandia, in partnership with Taranaki Whānui te Upoko o te Ika, Department of Conservation, Wellington City Council, Greater Wellington Regional Council, CentrePort, Morphum Environmental, and GHD, launched the joint Kia Mouriora te Kaiwharawhara Sanctuary to Sea initiative. Our vision for this whaitua is clear, ambitious, and achievable. In 100 years, it will be a healthy freshwater and forested ecosystem in an urban setting, which sustains an abundant native biodiversity and enhances the opportunities for Wellingtonians to have a nature-rich future.

Kia Mouriora te Kaiwharawhara Sanctuary to Sea is inherently collaborative in approach. There are dozens of environmental groups that operate in this area, mainly with residential, community, and bush reserve-specific focuses. We work closely with many of them as an umbrella network to support an array of ongoing environment restoration projects, and we hold regular community hui to ensure we have these groups’ input. Collective action is key to this initiative’s success.

There are about 130 businesses operating within the whaitua as well, six of which have partnered with our Te Ohu te Kaiwharawhara programme (formally named Every Business Restoring Nature). These businesses have taken on the

challenge to incorporate nature positive practices in their workplaces.

We understand that this is a journey with different starting points, and for this reason, we meet these businesses where they are currently. For some, this means setting up a recycling programme for the first time. For others, it is building a skink habitat in addition to trapping, stormwater control, and native planting. Every approach, big and small, is beneficial.

All of this plays in my mind as I stare mesmerised into Te Māhanga stream. I return to this spot every few weeks to watch the young kōkopu grow larger and more confident. Their once translucent bodies have now darkened, and the once seemingly empty stream now has greater movement and vitality.

Inside Roto Māhanga, toitoi or common bully which were translocated in 2023, are still settling into their new home, safe from the hungry mouths of introduced trout removed in 2011. There are reports of some males who are already guarding eggs. If so, these will be the first toitoi to hatch inside the Kaiwharawhara in generations.

The success of these toitoi will lead to

greater successes for the whaitua overall. Kākahi or freshwater mussels translocated here in 2018 and 2022 reproduce by releasing their larvae into the water. These larvae attach to the toitoi’s rough gills and fins before detaching themselves to disperse in the lake. Increasingly more juvenile kākahi will flow further downstream and establish populations there.

As the kākahi filter the water, I wonder in five hundred years if these reservoirs will be clearer? Will the streams be cleaner? Will the whaitua feed its people once again?

We know that what happens here has a flow-on effect further into Wellington’s waterways. Still, we cannot restore the mouri of the Kaiwharawhara whaitua alone and nor should we undertake this work alone. The long-term well-being of this place depends on the guidance of mana whenua, the support of central and local government, and the collective efforts of community groups and businesses.

We are under no illusion that the work needed will be easy. But we have a powerful truth on our side – give people and nature the opportunity, and we will thrive.

The removal of introduced Eurasion perch from the lower reservoir in 2021 has resulted in an explosion of life with flow-on effects further down the whaitua. Last year there were innumerable dragonflies. This year there are hundreds, if not thousands, of banded kōkopu.

Inside Roto Māhanga, toitoi or common bully which were translocated in 2023, are still settling into their new home, safe from the hungry mouths of introduced trout removed in 2011.

Navigating change together

Improving water infrastructure requires new investment strategies

By Michelle McCormick, policy director, Infrastructure New Zealand

This year’s hot, dry summer has highlighted the massive infrastructure deficit we are facing when it comes to our water services. It has also brought home the scale of investment needed to bring it up to standard.

Our existing three waters infrastructure is worth roughly $40 – $50 billion but requires investment of $120 – $185 billion over the next 30 years for it to service our communities safely and effectively into the future. Specifically, the investment is required to catch up with historical underinvestment, ensure drinking water meets new health and environmental standards, delivers for future population growth, and provides for ongoing maintenance, asset refurbishment and renewals.

Infrastructure New Zealand has had water reform on its agenda for around a decade and has looked to both international best practice and analysed our domestic situation to understand what we need to improve. We recently published our recommendations as a policy position paper, which was designed to get central and local government decisionmakers as well as private sector industry players thinking about the changes that are required, and the options available to them.

Currently, our legislative and policy settings mean that the delivery of water services primarily sits with local councils. With councils struggling under the burden of significant infrastructure deficits and responsibilities, and with little headroom to borrow more before reaching their debt ceilings, many are looking at massive double-digit rates increases.

Regardless of how much rates are increased, for many councils revenue will fall far short of what is required to maintain appropriate water services to their communities. Of course, there also remains the tension between what needs to be done to meet health and environmental standards and the political priorities of local government politicians who need to balance the funding for water versus the plethora of other council activities.

It is no great surprise, therefore, that Infrastructure New Zealand is advocating for significant changes to how water infrastructure is funded in this country. The status quo, where we stumble on, lurching from one water-related

crisis to another, is just not an option anymore. We must look to funding arrangements that provide for the urgent maintenance and upgrades required in the short-to-medium term while also setting the course for sustainable asset management over the long-term.

We see financial independence as being critical to this. Water infrastructure is made up of enduring expensive assets that must be subject to responsible asset management practices, including ongoing depreciation and renewal and replacement programmes, and a sustainable revenue stream. Whatever our water entities look like in the future, they must be able to set their own work programmes and raise the revenue needed to fund them (with the appropriate economic regulation in place to oversee these functions).

Financial independence will allow water entities to borrow to fund a backlog of renewals as well as invest in new infrastructure without impacting the balance sheet of local councils. As is best practice internationally, borrowing can be repaid over the life of these long-term assets.

An unlikely option may also be to relax existing Local Government Funding Agency limits and enable a potential ratings downgrade so local authorities can raise debt to invest in the required maintenance and growth capex, without requiring them to frontload rates and/ or water charging revenue.

In the meantime, it is likely that central Government will need to consider credit wrapping council water services and providing bridging funding until our new water entities are properly self-sufficient, no matter what form they take.

We also see considerable merit in the more widespread use of volumetric water charging. Of course, we can expect this to meet with

considerable resistance from councils. The politics is fraught. No politician is comfortable with the perception that they are adding extra costs to voters, even though ratepayers already pay for their water use indirectly through their rates bills.

Where water meters have been instituted, in places like Kapiti, private consumption has reduced, leaks have been detected far quicker and there has been a significant overall improvement in the efficiency and effectiveness of the network.

The other significant advantage of water meters is the creation of a direct service-related revenue stream that is separate from all other funding. This creates a more transparent and accountable system for both users and system managers. Other essential utilities such as telecommunications and electricity, are already priced and measured by consumer demand, and the precedent is there through the success of schemes like Kapiti. Infrastructure New Zealand believes the time is right for other parts of the country to seriously explore the concept.

There are big expectations around the new Government’s Local Water Done Well policy. But whether it will address the immediate funding deficit facing the sector is yet to be seen and like all stakeholders we await further clarity around the Government’s plans and the replacement legislation for Three Waters.

Finally, it is critical that waste and drinking water quality standards are fully implemented and public confidence in the safety of our water services is restored. This will require suitable financial enforcement and the capacity and capability of central government to provide assistance to councils who are initially unable to meet these standards.

Infrastructure New Zealand continues to support the reform of our water infrastructure and services. The current situation is not sustainable and as we have seen this summer, the issue of substandard water infrastructure will not just go away. We need to be proactive, inquisitive and brave enough to explore all available investment options, and we must not let short-termism and conservative thinking restrict our decisions. If we can do that, we can turn our current failings into future success.

Michelle McCormick

Improving water resilience to build for a changing climate

Improving water resilience can be achievable by applying an on-site, rather than system-wide focus, say two sponsors of the upcoming Branz seminar series, Building for a Changing Climate.

At a time when the changing climate throws a curveball at our reliance on regular rainfall to keep our dams replenished, Roger Adlam and Elliot Olsen of Watersmart offer a number of practical on-site solutions to help reduce demand on infrastructure.

“As the climate changes, we face more extreme weather, and fewer regular patterns,” says Elliot. “Extreme droughts create a lack of water reserves, leading to restrictions and potentially restricted flow rates. Extreme storms lead to floods, which compromise water reserves and destroy homes and infrastructure, meaning large areas may be left without a safe water supply for extended periods.”

This, says Roger, means that climate change creates long-term infrastructure stress. “It can take years to create solutions and upgrades to district, regional and national networks. For this reason, we encourage a focus on achievable on-site, as well as system-wide, change, to make quick progress and offer significant tangible benefits not only to providers of infrastructure, developers and builders, but also to the ultimate owners of the properties they create.”

Rainwater and grey water recycling

Watersmart’s solutions to improve water resilience cover two areas. “Firstly, significant potential exists to re-use rainwater for potable water uses,” says Elliot. “Collecting and using rainwater for house water supply, including potable uses, can mean that a home uses up to 70 percent less council-supplied water.”

This does, of course, depend on the size of the home’s roof. “A small roof area means you can catch less rainwater. If you have a large roof on say a single level home, you can catch enough water to

fulfil your entire demand for most of the year, assuming no droughts.

“Then, if you also install grey water recycling, your house is less reliant on capturing rainwater. This gives the resident more resilience in times of drought. A grey water re-use system can alone save 30 percent of water use, as the processed water can be used in toilets and laundry and irrigation only.

“And if you have both a grey water reuse system and a rainwater collection reuse system for the entire house supply, then you can almost always achieve 100 percent on site water supply, with no council water required.”

Many positive impacts on budgets and resilience

Reduced loading on infrastructure not only buys time to upgrade or repair pipework, but it can in some cases remove the requirement to upgrade. Additionally, it decreases the costs of creating potable water more than many people think.

“Furthermore, builders can achieve a higher Homestar rating when installing water collection and re-use systems, and appeal to a wider customer base with a higher-value end product compared to the same house without this feature. Similar to solar power reducing power bills and

providing power during a blackout, a rainwater collection and re-use system can reduce water bills and allow a local water supply in times of drought or compromised mains water supply.”

Both Roger and Elliot say that incentivising systematic on-site recycling and re-use requires central and local government buy-in. “We need to work out how to incentivise investment,” says Roger. “It is a question of whether funded support would be less than the inevitable infrastructure upgrade.”

“If you are a commercial customer, your Infrastructure Growth Charge will be calculated on the volume of water you expect to use. Therefore, if you install water saving devices that will reduce your water demand, it will reduce your IGC.”

In the meantime, both Roger and Elliot advocate for the use of new ways of thinking alongside existing systems such as in-home water recycling system and rainwater re-use solutions.

“Our mantra at present is ‘recycle-ready houses’,” says Roger. “We’re working with developers and builders to help them prepare to adopt change by, for example, installing dual pipe systems. The future is on its way, and we are actively working to help Kiwis to improve their water resilience.”

FenceTank end wall.

Adapting water infrastructure for an uncertain climate

Researchers from the Deep South National Science Challenge are exploring options to ensure wastewater infrastructure can cope with advancing sea levels and extreme rainfall events.

The Adaptive Tools for Decisions on Compounding Climate Change Impacts on Water Infrastructure project has been applying decision making under deep uncertainty (DMDU) tools to inform adaptation planning for wastewater treatment plants, trunk sewers, and outfall pipelines that face a changing climate and increasing demand for service.

The majority of our population lives near the coast, which means our infrastructure is mostly in areas susceptible to compound coastal hazards – the interaction between different hazards that occur simultaneously.

Wastewater infrastructure is particularly vulnerable because it is often gravity-fed, and therefore very low-lying. Coupled with increasing influent volumes and communities that expect current levels of service to be maintained into the future, wastewater systems are highly vulnerable to changes in climate and land use. Ensuring the safe and effective provision of wastewater is a critical societal need and has significant health implications.

“Wastewater isn’t glamourous,” says project lead and NIWA scientist Dr Andrew Allison, “but losing critical wastewater services, even for a short time, is much less glamourous.”

Applying deep uncertainty tools to compound hazards

The Adaptive Tools research team used a robust decision-making (RDM) approach to inform wastewater infrastructure adaptation options by partnering with Watercare and Wellington Water at two locations.

RDM is one of several DMDU tools. RDM seeks to find the adaptive actions that perform well across as many scenarios as possible. In contrast, the commonly used optimisation approaches try to find the solution that works best for a single scenario which, in conditions of uncertainty, provide least flexibility and can create lock-in of decisions and thus maladaptation.

The use of Dynamic Adaptive Pathways Planning (a DMDU approach) is recommended in the MfE’s Coastal Hazards and Climate Change Guidance for Local Government (2017). However, few examples exist in practice of DAPP implementation. This research sought to fill this gap for compound hazards coastal settings.

DAPP requires the adaptation thresholds (things that need to be avoided), indicators (things that need to be monitored), and triggers (the time when action needs to be taken) need to be developed, so that the actions decided can be monitored for their performance as the climate changes. Councils and water service providers have only begun to address implementation of the DAPP analyses.

Accordingly, the researchers used seven methods – scoping

workshops, system mapping, dynamic adaptive pathways planning (DAPP), exploratory modelling, RDM, real options analysis and validation workshops – to simulate future pressures and potential adaptive actions for two wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), at Helensville and Seaview.

Two implementation examples

The Helensville example focused on how Watercare could implement a Dynamic Adaptive Pathways Plan that had been developed previously. The Helensville WWTP sits on a bend of the Kaipara River just north of the town of Helensville in north Auckland. The plant is less than four metres above mean sea level and is vulnerable to high river flows, sea level rise and high tides – particularly so when these occur simultaneously.

The research team found that an adaptation threshold exists at 31cm of Relative Sea Level Rise (RSLR), at which point the plant would be inundated in a one percent Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP) event. An AEP event is a one percent chance of an event occurring in any given year.

In this case, the trigger point exists at a sufficient lead time to enable relocation of the plant without it being impacted by a flood, while the asset owners can monitor the rate of RSLR (the indicator). Sea level rise is occurring faster than usual at the Helensville WWTP site due to land subsidence.

The Helensville example quantitatively shows how a DAPP

Terminology

Adaptation thresholds are critical points of failure to be avoided, such as inundation.

Adaptive actions are engineering actions designed to avoid an adaptation threshold.

Triggers are a decision point when the efficacy of current and future actions are reviewed and new adaptive actions chosen and implemented to avoid an adaptation threshold.

Indicators are factors that are monitored to warn that a trigger is approaching. For example, near-miss events.

Lead time is the time it takes to plan for, obtain consent and implement a new adaptive action.

Nuisance flooding is flooding that occurs on site but does not impact plant operations or wastewater processing.

RSLR is the rate of sea level rise observed at a specific site. Comprised of global sea level rise and local land subsidence/uplift.

could be implemented by a water service provider, in practice. The Helensville study was completed in September 2021.

The second example was conducted at the Seaview WWTP in Petone. The plant was built on reclaimed land at the mouth of the Hutt River, and existing analysis showed that the plant was susceptible to inundation in a one percent AEP compound hazard event after 60cm of RSLR as well as being exposed to sea level rise and related groundwater rise and liquefaction hazards.

Working with Wellington Water, the researchers developed a prototype DAPP for the Seaview WWTP, the trunk network and outfall pipeline, including indicators, triggers and adaptation thresholds to be avoided. Modelling showed that after 26cm of RSLR, ‘nuisance flooding’ would begin to occur at the site, and after 56cm of RSLR plant assets could be inundated in a one percent AEP flood – this could happen as soon as 2060, while the plant has a design life of 2080.

If changes were implemented to plant layout, including raising electrical systems, the plant may be able to remain on site for its design life.

In practice

Four months after this research was complete, the Auckland Anniversary weekend floods occurred, with 265mm of rain falling in 24 hours and 211mm in less than six hours. The floods provided a rare opportunity to observe an extreme event occurring in a location that had very recently been modelled.

Infiltration of water into the trunk network meant that influent volumes to the plant were so high that even after plant upgrades in 2022 (which increased processing capacity by 50 percent), the plant could not handle the flow. Mobile pumps were trucked in to bypass the ultrafiltration treatment system by lowering pond levels, which resulted in partially treated sewage being discharged into the Kaipara River.

The Kaipara River burst its banks and flooded large areas of farmland upstream from Helensville, which helped to reduce the river flows. Additionally, the peak river flows occurred during the lower half of the tidal cycle, so the Helensville WWTP was not inundated by the river.

The Auckland floods were a one-in-220-year event, meaning that they were far outside the design standard of the plant, and larger than the largest flood modelled by the research team. Re-running the model to simulate the event showed that the plant would have

been inundated if the river flows had peaked at high tide, rather than low tide.

Lessons learned

The research team says that as extreme weather events become more frequent and severe, and ongoing sea levels and groundwater rise progresses, water service providers need to consider the planned relocation of wastewater assets and other water vulnerable infrastructure.

“It’s not really a matter of if, but when,” says Andrew. “Our infrastructure systems are not located or designed to cope with these increasingly large compound hazard events compounded by ongoing sea level rise, and they’re simply not going to be able to continue to operate where they are as the sea continues to rise.”

“Furthermore, our land use planning needs to consider where further development and associated infrastructure is located, how it is designed to accommodate and avoid the impacts of the ongoing changing climate.”

The approach developed in the Adaptive Tools project is already being applied more widely to infrastructure adaptation, including for freshwater supply and transport networks. It provides a way to stresstest DAPP derived near-term actions and long term options and to ensure that the components of a DAPP (indicators, signals, triggers and adaptation thresholds) can be measured, and to simulate how a DAPP would play out across a range of future scenarios. This can give infrastructure providers greater confidence in decision-making, in the face of a deeply uncertain future.

Next steps

With the project completed, Deep South have commissioned the researchers to draft guidance for the use of their approach more widely for infrastructure adaptation, including non-water infrastructure. This guidance shows how the seven methods can be used within a 10-step planning cycle that complies with MfE guidance and allows for robust decisions to be made to adapt infrastructure under deeply uncertain futures.

Research team: Andrew Allison, Scott Stephens, Paula Blackett, Shailesh Singh (NIWA), Judy Lawrence (PSConsulting), Adolf Stroombergen (Informetrics), Jan Kwakkel (Delft Technical University).

Article supplied by NIWA

The Helensville WWTP sits on a bend of the Kaipara River just north of the town of Helensville in north Auckland. The plant is less than four metres above mean sea level and is vulnerable to high river flows.

Lessons from India

Recently Aqua-K NZ directors Peter McLeod and Chetan Thapar took a consulting engineer and two industrial clients to meet with Aldee Water, their Indian design and engineering partners, to see what could be learnt from the water and wastewater plants in India.

When you mention water, and more particularly wastewater, treatment in India, most people visualise the dirty rivers and canals and the polluted lakes and wonder if there is any wastewater treatment at all. Polluted rivers, canals and lakes are still very evident. Less evident are all the recent industrial developments that are required to treat all wastewater on site and reuse the treated water. In some cases, they need to have zero liquid discharge. We wondered how long it will be before New Zealand achieves this level of commitment to water treatment and recycling.

Our conclusion of the visit was that India water and wastewater treatment systems are at least 10 years ahead of Aotearoa New Zealand. We can learn a lot from India.

We visited four sites around Ahmedabad in the province of Gujarat. The four sites treated very different sources of water or wastewater and used a variety of technologies. All had been developed under a design and build contract with Aldee Water and most were also operated by them under a long-term contract.

The Gujarat Cancer Society Hospital and Medical School is a hospital with a large student nursing hostel, that has a sewage treatment plant built to treat 1000 cubic metres per day of wastewater on a footprint area of 360 square metres.

The plant used a very simple four-stage system MBBR system using an aerated tank containing PVA gel beads as the media, an anoxic tank, Toray MBR modules and a UV steriliser. The system can be completely monitored and controlled remotely on a smart phone

It’s a very simple system on a very compact footprint producing minimal sludge. The treated water has a BOD <3 mg/l and a COD < 30 mg/l. All water is reused for irrigation and toilet flushing within the hospital.

Left: The MBR tank in the foreground, the anoxic tank behind it and the aerated PVA-gel tank at the back. The air blowers are on the RHS and the intake screen and the screw-press for the waste is in the background. Top: The banks of reverse osmosis filters at Zydus Pharmaceutical Business Park. Above: The banks of RO filters at Zydus WTP.

Top: The canal just near the water intake of the Zydus WTP. Above: The screw-press and waste bin for the solid waste at Gujarat Cancer Society Hospital and Medical School. The small size of these components is the result of the efficiency of the PVA gel in reducing and minimising the solid waste.

At the Zydus Pharmaceutical Business Park there is a centralised wastewater treatment facility for the 12 large pharmaceutical factories on the site.

The facility treats 4500 cubic metres per day of wastewater, recycling all treated water to the factories for reuse.

The older part of the plant was treating 750 cubic metres each day through Toray MBR modules. Six years ago it was upgraded within the same footprint to treat 3000 cubic metres per day by the inclusion of PVA gel beads as a media in a subdivided portion of the aeration tank. The use of the PVA gel also reduced the sludge by approximately 70 percent.

The system uses a primary clariflocculator, aerated PVA gel, Toray MBR modules, activated carbon filter, four stage reverse osmosis, nano-filtration and an evaporator for the final waste stream, giving a 97 percent water recovery and zero liquid discharge.

The treated water has TSS – below detectable limits, BOD – <3 gm/l, COD – <25 gm/l, and TDS – <250 gm/l.

At the Banas Dairy and Potato Processing Factory, they treat 3500 cubic metres of wastewater per day, 85 percent of which comes from the dairy processing plants. It comprises a DAF, UASB with the biogas being collected for use within the plant, tube settlers, Toray MBR modules, a secondary clarifier, and reverse osmosis filters.

The treated water has a TSS <5, BOD <10 and COD <50. It is used in the boilers, plant washing and irrigation.

The biogas is mostly used for producing processing heat within the plant.

Our fourth visit was to the Zydus Water Treatment plant which treats 3500 cubic metres of canal water per day, which has high silt and algae loadings, for use in pharmaceutical manufacturing plants.

The process uses a primary clarifier, multigrade filter, 4-stage ultra-filtration and disinfection.

The output parameters are TSS – below detectable limits, Turbidity – <0.01 NTU, and TDS 150-300 mg/l.

What we learnt from our visit

The new developments being built in India are significantly ahead of Aotearoa New Zealand in their performance requirements, the process designs, technology, and standards of water treatment they are achieving.

Full water reuse and zero-liquid discharge is a current reality in new industrial developments, not a future possibility, as it is here.

We believe one of the key components to the success of these projects is that the same company has designed, commissioned and operated a large number of the approximately 400 projects with which they have been involved. This has given them a vast amount of experience in knowing what works and in getting the best performance from their plants.

However, great care must be taken when using Indian manufacturing standards and applying construction techniques – concrete is cheap in India and appearances are, often, not very relevant or valued.

Article supplied by Aqua-K NZ

CWTP fire response and recovery

By Becky Macdonald and Jack Deeley of Jacobs and Adam Twose and Patrick Cantillon of Canterbury City Council

The Christchurch Wastewater Treatment Plant (CWTP) is the second largest in the country and treats the wastewater from a population of over 400,000 people. On November 1, 2021, a fire engulfed one of the two trickling filters before quickly spreading to the second. Soon both were obliterated, leaving the CWTP team to face an unprecedented disaster.

The trickling filters were an integral part of the treatment process converting about 80 percent of the soluble biological oxygen demand (BOD) into secondary solids. The loss of the key equipment combined with the contamination of combustion byproducts resulted in drastically decreased quality of treatment. Due to the large size of the blaze, the quick-thinking team utilised the wastewater in an attempt to quickly quench the fire. This continued for two weeks to support the fire service and to ensure the hot spots were suppressed and to avoid further damage to the critical infrastructure.

Initially there was no way of preventing the polluted run-off from the fire entering the wastewater streams. The contamination proved toxic to the organisms in the wastewater treatment process, killing off the majority of the vital BOD-reducing microbes. Microbes are essential in wastewater treatment and without them catastrophic failure of the wastewater treatment would ensue.

The challenge

A wastewater facility cannot be turned off, so all emergency response actions had to be done while still trying to treat and contain the wastewater pouring in from the city.

The response was in two main phases: an initial response to bypass the burnt trickling filters and attempt to provide some treatment to the incoming wastewater, and a second response to devise and install an intermediate treatment while investigations and decisions were made to replace the damaged components. A solution had to be found as quickly as possible to prevent contamination to the environment and minimise inevitable odour nuisance to the community.

The initial emergency response

After the fire was fully extinguished, contaminated water would still mercilessly flow through the process when it rained, inhibiting treatment again. The priority was to halt this flow, which was accomplished by installing gates in the pipeline connecting the trickling filters to the process.

A consequence of stopping the harmful flow was that it prevented water passage from the main pump station. To adapt to this issue, a bypass from a smaller pump station was activated. This significantly reduced the flow going through the system

On November 1, 2021, a fire engulfed one of the two trickling filters of the Christchurch Wastewater Treatment Plant (CWTP), before quickly spreading to the second. Soon both were obliterated, leaving the CWTP team to face an unprecedented disaster.

but allowed some of the wastewater to go through the secondary contact tanks (SCTs) and on to the clarifiers to maintain some level of secondary treatment.

Because of the reduced treatment capacity, most of the water was only treated by the primary sedimentation tanks (PSTs) which separated solids to reduce the total BOD. Maximising the primary treatment was a crucial aspect of the immediate emergency response. To boost the effectiveness of the PSTs, polymer was added to increase flocculation, and therefore solids removal.

In the aftermath of fire, the Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) levels in the digester biogas rapidly increased. This indicated that the digesters were being stressed which could have led to serious issues. To avoid disrupting the sensitive digesters, the waste activated sludge (WAS) stream to the digesters was cut off. As the WAS had potential to generate odour, the only short-term option was disposal by landfill.

Before disposal, the waste had to be dewatered. This was a challenge as there was no existing mechanism and the existing belt presses were only connected to the system after the digesters, 100 metres across site. Temporary modifications were made, running flexible pipe across the ground to connect to the belt presses to allow dewatering of the WAS until the trickling filters were isolated.

Eventually the contaminated wastewater reached the ponds, changing the colour from a healthy green to black. Due to the increased BOD from the crippled treatment process, the ponds’ dissolved oxygen levels plummeted.

Because of the large pond surface area, there was a risk of anaerobic conditions forming, leading to significant odour release. To combat this, an immediate mitigation of adding hydrogen peroxide was utilised to introduce chemical oxygen into the ponds. The hydrogen peroxide alone did not have adequate effects and mechanical aerators were considered as the next method of boosting the oxygen levels.

Through investigating contacts in the industry, the team were able to locate three large secondhand aerators; one aspirating aerator, owned by Fonterra at the Takaka Wastewater Treatment Plant, and two directional surface aerators, owned by Invercargill City Council. The three aerators were relocated, refurbished and installed close to the inlet of Pond 1. But due to the large area of the ponds and the high BOD loading, the odour was still released and caused a nuisance.

Temporary solutions

After considering three different options, repurposing two clarifiers for aeration was identified as the preferred interim solution. This option had the benefit of the fastest implementation time to provide additional BOD removal to assist the overloaded and struggling ponds and reduce the effects of unwanted odours.

Though this method had the shortest construction timeline, calculations indicated that once fully commissioned it would only provide about 75 percent of the required secondary treatment required at the city’s average daily flows. To support this initial temporary treatment, more aerators would have to be added to Pond 1.

Reflection on the project

The emergency response to the devasting fire at the Christchurch Wastewater Treatment Plant severely tested all the teams involved. With effective collaboration between Christchurch City Council staff, the team at Jacobs, suppliers and contractors, a trickling filter plant was converted into an activated sludge plant within a matter of months. Due to operating at maximum capacity and minimum redundancy, there are still intermittent odour issues.

Despite this, the plant is currently providing adequate treatment for the wastewater largely within the consent limits. Through constant communication with the community and all parties involved, combined with efficient partnership between the design and construction teams, a suitable and innovative solution was found to this immense challenge.

Left: The trickling filters were an integral part of the treatment process converting about 80 percent of the soluble biological oxygen demand (BOD) into secondary solids. Below: Repurposing two clarifiers for aeration was identified as the preferred interim solution, to provide additional BOD removal to assist the overloaded and struggling ponds and reduce the effects of unwanted odours.

Is it a happy new year for the environment this year?

As 2024 dawns in a much better summer weather space than 2023, we are reminded of the impacts the climate has on our ageing water infrastructure and the environment.

Amidst the Wellington summer of water restrictions and unswimmable Auckland beaches due to waste and stormwater pollution, Helen Atkins looks at what 2024 will likely hold for new resource management and freshwater management. She also takes a look at a recent High Court case considering the vegetable growing exemptions in the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management.

In its December issue the Environmental Defence Society (EDS) stated the following:

It’s not a Merry Christmas for the Environment

21 December 2023

Forest & Bird and the Environmental Defence Society are dismayed that the new Government has just rammed through a dramatic assault on Aotearoa New Zealand’s environment. The environmental protections that look after our special places have been cast aside with the creation of the power for Cabinet to override resource management law at will for the next three years.

The Government now has the power to exempt parts of the country from any or all of the Resource Management Act requirements and allow destruction of our precious indigenous plants and animals and pollution of our rivers and coasts. This will be able to occur without proper consideration of the impact on nature and neighbouring communities.

This is a bitter blow for nature, our communities and our wellbeing. It undermines years of work by governments, businesses, community groups, iwi and NGOs to create law that helps look after our incredible environment and that looks after people.

These sweeping ‘Henry VIII’ powers, which have been made into law in the new Resource Management (Natural and Built Environment and Spatial Planning Repeal and Interim Fast-Track Consenting) Act, are unfettered and unnecessary. They will allow Ministers to override legislation by regulation without having to go back through Parliament. Unlike post-earthquake and Covid-19 emergency legislation there isn’t a stated purpose to place limits on the use of the powers. The Minister responsible for the legislation Hon Chris Bishop has previously called similar powers “constitutionally inappropriate”.

This article unpicks what is actually happening to environmental laws in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The Resource Management Act

The Resource Management (Natural and Built Environment and Spatial Planning Repeal and Interim Fast-Track Consenting) Act 2023 was passed in law late 2023. The Act got Royal Assent on 22 December 2023 and all the provisions (except for those clauses 5 to 7 which relate to a number of Treaty related matters) came into force immediately.

As noted by the Ministry for the Environment what this means in practice is that almost all resource management

matters continue to apply as set out in the RMA as that Act continued to apply since the passage of the two Acts that replaced it. The Government has signalled it will develop new legislation to replace the RMA during its tenure.

The Ministry for the Environment has prepared the following information on what the NBA repeal means for:

Fast-track consenting

Retention of the NBA fast-track consenting process. Any consent issued will be treated like a consent under the RMA. The Government intends to introduce new fast-track consenting legislation as part of its 100 Day Action Plan and the current NBA regime applies until that legislation is passed.

Freshwater consents

The NBA amended the RMA to introduce a shorter maximum duration for certain freshwater consents and the maximum duration was linked to NBA plan rules. To recognise some consent applicants may receive shorter durations than they otherwise would have, public notification of replacement freshwater related consents was precluded.

Freshwater consents applied for since 24 August 2023 that have not been decided will now have their duration determined in accordance with the 35-year maximum duration provided for in the RMA.

Replacement freshwater consents applied for since 24 August 2023 that have not had a notification decision made will now be eligible for public notification

Helen Atkins, barrister/commissioner

under the RMA. Any resource consents granted in accordance with the shorter duration consent provisions are still valid under the RMA.

The National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management can be read online at environment.govt.nz/acts-andregulations/national-policy-statements/ national-policy-statement-freshwatermanagement/

Requiring authorities

The NBA gave council-controlled organisations (CCOs) the same automatic requiring authority status as councils. This has been reversed and CCOs no longer have automatic status.

A requiring authority is an entity that can designate land for a specified purpose (such as schools and roading) for planning and consenting. Requiring authorities also have access to the process for compulsory land acquisition under the Public Works Act.

The NBA also broadened the scope and number of ‘non-network’ entities that could apply to become a requiring authority.

This means that any in-progress applications to become a requiring authority under the NBA will not be processed and any granted applications will be revoked. Notices of requirement lodged by requiring authorities granted their status solely under the NBA (this is likely to apply to CCOs only), will not be processed and any notices of requirement that have been confirmed will not be able to be exercised.

Any applications that have been submitted will cease to be processed, although where an applicant meets the RMA definition of a network utility operator, they can re-apply under the RMA. If any application has been approved, approvals will be revoked, except where an applicant meets the RMA definition of a network utility operator. In that event, the approval is treated as an approval under the RMA.

Treaty settlements and other arrangements with Māori

The NBA required information about consent applications to be provided to post settlement governance entities with statutory acknowledgements, even where

equivalent requirements under Treaty settlements were time bound or had expired. The repeal legislation amends the RMA to retain this provision.

In relation to Mana Whakahono ā Rohe the Ministry notes that it is its understanding that no Mana Whakahono ā Rohe have been initiated or joint management agreements requested under the NBA since August 2023. Parties involved in any that have been initiated or requested under the NBA must not progress it and may now re-start the process under the RMA. The NBA enabled groups representing hapū to initiate Mana Whakahono ā Rohe (they were previously unable to do so under the RMA). The Repeal Act will enable any groups representing hapū that have initiated a Mana Whakahono ā Rohe under the NBA to initiate a Mana Whakahono ā Rohe under the RMA.

The repeal of the NBA reverses all of the compliance and enforcement amendments that applied under the RMA from 24 August 2023, and reverts to the compliance and enforcement provisions of the RMA in effect prior to the NBA’s enactment. Specific changes are set out on the Ministry’s website entitled – Changes to resource management | Ministry for the Environment

So, it is largely back to the future for the RMA while we wait to see what the Government has in store for amendments to that legislation.

Severe weather Orders in Council

The Ministry has sought feedback (prior to end of January 2024) on the Orders in Council under the Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Legislation Act enacted in early 2023. Specifically, the Ministry wanted to know:

• What did you use any Order for?

• What challenges you have experienced in using an Order?

• What the positive or negative impacts of the Order are on the community and the environment?

• What challenges are being experienced with severe weather recovery that could be reduced or removed by a new Order in Council?

It is assumed there will be a report on this feedback in due course so watch this space for any updates.

Muaūpoko Tribal Authority Incorporated v Minister for the Environment [2023] NZCA 641

The National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management was amended to include an exemption where local councils could set limits below the national ‘bottom line’ in two important vegetable growing areas around Pukekohe and Lake Horowhenua, near Levin. These council-set limits still required improvement of pollutant levels, but without compromising the domestic supply of fresh vegetables or food security.

It is a matter of public record that Lake Horowhenua has experienced decades of pollution from sewage and agricultural run-off causing the accumulation of various chemicals like phosphorous and nitrogen. Toxic cyanobacteria are also regularly present in the lake which can cause health issues and be deadly for children and small animals.

Both Muaūpoko and Raukawa claim mana whenua and kaitiaki rights and interests over the lake and the attaching Hōkio Stream, regarding them as taonga.

The appellants, Muaūpoko Tribal Authority and Te Rūnanga o Raukawa, argued that Lake Horowhenua is at a “tipping point” and may not recover from pollutants, even if contaminants entering are reduced.

The primary issue in this case was whether the Minister for the Environment’s process of consultation for the proposed vegetable exemption complied with the RMA. This was an appeal from a finding on the High Court to the Court of Appeal.

The Court of Appeal accepted the High Court’s findings that the Minister consulted with Muaūpoko and Raukawa, and that he considered their views while acting in good faith throughout. However, the Court of Appeal found that the Minister’s consultation remained insufficient, reasoning that the RMA’s processes and opportunities for public input are found across several contexts, and are “obviously seen as important values by those who framed the Act.” The Court went on to say that this consultation must allow meaningful opportunity for input, requiring more than mere notification and that all parties be “properly informed about what is proposed so they can make appropriate decisions and respond fully.”

Overall, the Court of Appeal found that what amounts to sufficient consultation depends on the context, ranging from single conversations as sufficing, to possible months or years of consultation. Within this context, the court noted the following:

• Lake Horowhenua’s long and complicated history.

• Both Muaūpoko and Raukawa claim mana whenua and kaitiaki over the Lake and Stream. These are important matters given ss 6-7 of the RMA.

• Muaūpoko holds fishery rights.

• Lake Horowhenua is a taonga which has long suffered from pollution. The Crown has been complicit in that pollution.

• In the Privy Council case of New Zealand Māori Council v Attorney-General the Court found that where taonga is in a vulnerable state, the Crown may be required to “take especially vigorous action for its protection. This may arise, for example, if the vulnerable state can be attributed to past breaches by the Crown of its obligations.”

• The NPS-FM’s underlying concept Te Mana o te Wai, which prioritises the health and well-being of water bodies and freshwater ecosystems over the health needs of people and the ability of keeping communities to provide for their social, economic, and cultural well-being. It is arguable that the vegetable exemption conflicts with this concept.

• The NPS-FM has recognised the role of Māori in managing and being involved in decisions related to freshwater.

• Complex water quality mitigation data was not available at the time of consultation.

The Court agreed with Muaūpoko and Raukawa of a need for the extra diligence when undertaking consultation in this situation which “required considerable caution”.

Consequently, the Court was unsatisfied that Muaūpoko and Raukawa were given sufficient information, in sufficient time, to properly consider the same and to formulate their respective responses.

Ultimately, the appeal was allowed. The exemption clause (3.33) and related appendix (Appendix 5) of the NPS-FM were quashed.

In short, consultation was inadequate and failed to comply with the RMA and the Minister’s obligation at law to properly consult with those affected. The Court of Appeal disagreed with the High Court’s findings that there was no breach of the duty to consult.

Concluding remarks

The first part of this article looks at policy and law changes which are somewhat of a moving feast at the moment. The second part of this article considers the case of Muaūpoko. Given the Government’s signaled changes to such matters as, Te Mana o te Wai, it remains to be seen where the outcome of this case will land. Suffice to say that, for now, neither Council in the Lake Horowhenua or Pukekohe areas need to give effect to clause 3.33 or Appendix 5 of the NPS-FM as they are no longer extant.

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Empowering women through inclusive WASH initiatives in Papua New Guinea

In Papua New Guinea (PNG), women and girls face disproportionate risks associated with poverty, violence, and safety. These challenges are further compounded by the inadequate access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH).

Collaborating with partners across seven villages in the Wewak District, WaterAid Australia has undertaken a transformative initiative to empower women in addressing these concerns through the Inclusive WASH Program. This comprehensive program encompasses the installation of essential infrastructure, soap making initiatives and the promotion of gender equality, disability inclusion and social awareness.

The main objective of the programme is to ensure WASH services are inclusive and accessible to all members of the communities. Women in the seven villages were engaged for insights into issues affecting their health and livelihood, including gender-based violence and the lack of access to inclusive WASH. This collaborative effort was facilitated by the East Sepik Council of Women (ESCOW), a women’s network based in PNG.

Can it be a double gold for the Kiwis?

Last year a team from Watercare took out the winning Winnovators trophy – a WaterAid Australia initiative in which teams from both sides of the Tasman compete to solve a realworld water, sanitation and hygiene challenge in the Pacific. There are hopes for another Kiwi win for the second year running. And this year, members from Water New Zealand’s Young Water Professionals are aiming to join the challenge.

Water New Zealand chief executive Gillian Blythe says Winnovators provides a unique chance for teams to collaborate and work together to develop solutions for challenges faced in the communities in developing countries in the Pacific.

“Last year we signed an MOU with WaterAid Australia and we hope that these closer ties will continue to provide opportunities for our members to join the many projects and to leverage each other’s strengths on the UN Sustainable Development goal of access to clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene for all.”

Water New Zealand will be hosting a breakfast at the Stormwater Conference to help raise funds for WaterAid Australia’s work in the Pacific. If you’re attending the conference, we’d love you to join us for this informal catch up to find out more about some of the great projects in the Pacific and opportunities for you to become more involved.

An important and unique part of the programme also involved a women-led soap making initiative. Recognising the absence of affordable and accessible soap as a major barrier towards good hygiene practices in rural communities, WaterAid Australia’s programme focused on enhancing local soap production. This not only ensures the availability of soap for maintaining good hygiene, but also provides training and economic opportunities for women in the villages.

Daisy is a grandmother from Koiken village who has proudly taken part in the programme. She describes how, before the project, women experienced daily hardships, walking long distances in search of water for household use. There was often not enough for daily uses such as bathing, washing dishes, laundry and personal hygiene.

“Now we are so fortunate to have water taps installed at our yards, so we are excited as it really helps our daily living. The project also has helped us undergo a vital life skills training and that is soap training and production. We are now able to produce different types of soap products including hair cream and toothpaste after that initial training.

“Women found it more convenient in terms of accessing clean water for soap making since water taps are installed just close by. We use water to clean the equipment that we use to produce soaps locally. It then adds value to our lives economically and also improves personal hygiene and grooming too.”

Soap

Paula, a women’s representative in the village of Big Mushu, and an active ESCOW member, attests to the programme’s empowerment impact. She highlights the programme’s role in enabling her to advocate for women’s issues in her village. Through gender-based violence training, Paula successfully referred two families experiencing domestic violence to relevant service providers via established referral pathways, resulting in the resolution of these cases.

Beyond the empowerment of local women, the programme has also positively impacted the lives of men and children. Melchior

Wuren, officer-in-charge of Kairuru Health Centre in Wewak District, East Sepik Province, noted the improvement in treating common skin diseases due to the locally produced soaps.

The Inclusive WASH Program in Papua New Guinea exemplifies a holistic approach to empower women, improve hygiene practices, and enhance overall community well-being. The collaboration with local partners and the integration of soapmaking initiatives contribute to sustainable solutions addressing the unique challenges faced in the local communities.

Article supplied by WaterAid Australia