Ruakākā Wastewater Treatment Plant Interim Solution

The Ruakākā Wastewater Treatment Plant is facing capacity constraints due to several factors:

• Growth has accelerated in recent years, meaning the planned expansion will not happen fast enough to meet this demand.
• The Marsden Point Oil Refinery was expected to take significant amounts of treated wastewater for reuse. With the closure of the refinery, the plant must now discharge that treated wastewater.

As a result, we are currently unable to process consents for development in the area, because the remaining capacity in the plant (given the factors above) is already allocated to existing consents for development. 

We are considering a range of options for an interim solution to the capacity constraints (ahead of the construction of a new treatment plant and discharge facility, which is not due for completion until 2030). Consultants are evaluating these options for the interim solution through May and June 2025.

One possibility is to discharge treated wastewater via spray or dripline onto two reserve areas beside the existing treatment plant (zones 6B and 7 as shown below outlined in blue).

These areas are scenic reserves, so we are asking you to help us understand how you use them. This will help to inform the design and any applications we need to make to use these areas if they prove to be suitable.

Give us your feedback

Please provide your feedback by 4:00pm on Tuesday 20 May 2025.