Wastewater upgrade set to begin in Ōtaki

The next big infrastructure upgrade for Ōtaki will get underway soon, reports Kāpiti Coast District Council.

The $11 million Ōtaki wastewater upgrade will form the backbone of the town’s future wastewater system. It’ll increase the capacity and improve the resilience of the town’s wastewater system to support current and future housing needs.

Council’s Group Manager of Infrastructure and Asset Management, Sean Mallon, says the upgrade involves laying 2.7 kilometres of new wastewater pipeline from Riverbank Road, along Aotaki Street and Mill Road to Old State Highway 1.

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“The new pipe will be a gravity main which means wastewater flows downhill from source to the treatment station. The design removes several pump stations which will deliver operational and maintenance savings over time.

“The pipe will be 800 millimetres wide along Aotaki Street, reducing to 500 millimetres wide along Mill Road. It will be buried up to three metres deep in some places.

“Local contractor Mills Albert has been awarded the contract following a competitive tender process. Mills Albert will begin work in August and estimate the work will take 12 months. Their first tasks include locating services and setting up a site office.

“Traffic management will be in place around the work site as it moves along its route. We appreciate this can be disruptive and thank people for their patience and cooperation,” said Mr Mallon.

This upgrade is part of a $50 million package of infrastructure upgrades for Ōtaki, which includes $29.3 million in Crown funding from the Infrastructure Acceleration Fund (IAF). The IAF funding is supporting Council to deliver network-wide drinking water, wastewater, stormwater and transport improvements in Ōtaki.

The first of these infrastructure improvements, the new Ōtaki Reservoir, is progressing well. Earthworks and ground strengthening activities are finished, and construction of the reservoir tank has started. The reservoir is on track to come on stream in early 2025.