Severe weather conditions from Wednesday 30 April to Friday 2 May may impact the network
Severe weather conditions may impact the network

Due to severe weather conditions forecasted from today, 30 April until Friday 2 May, there may be impacts on the network, 

Heavy rain increases the chance of excess stormwater entering the wastewater network, which it doesn’t have capacity for. This means there is a higher risk of wastewater overflows during wet weather events or emergencies such as major power cuts.

Our operations team are checking known risk areas and working to ensure that the stormwater network will be running as smoothly as possible. 

 
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Knowledge Hub / The Network / Wastewater / Wastewater treatment plants / Featherston Wastewater Treatment Plant

Featherston Wastewater Treatment Plant

At the Featherston Wastewater Treatment plant, sewage flows through a facultative pond, a maturation pond, and ultraviolet treatment. Discharge of the treated effluent is managed to Donald’s Creek depending on the conditions of the Resource Consents.

The plant was granted new consents on 25 August 2009 with a variation granted on 12 November 2010. These consents expired on 25 August 2012. The plant is currently operating under this expired consent. An application for new consents is on-going.

In general, the consent allows SWDC:

  • to discharge treated wastewater to Donald’s creek at up to 9,000 cubic meters per day in dry weather and up to 12,000 cubic meters per day in wet weather.
  • to discharge odours and other contaminants from the treatment process within the boundary.

Resource consents

WAR970080 Featherston WWTP Consent Conditions

Plant performance


Current Status: Compliant

Period: February 2025

 


Commentary:

Major investment is required to achieve a new consent. 

Renewal of the consent is being managed as a major project, and we are operating on an extension of the old consent.

The consent approval process currently underway will better inform the required capacity of the WWTP to cater for growth in Featherston beyond 2032.

Items of significance:

The Plant continues to require ongoing management of resources, focused on effluent quality, to achieve compliance with consent requirements.

The public submission period for the new resource consent has closed. Engagement with submitters has commenced and preparation for the hearing (currently expected to be in June 2025) has also begun. 

We understand that there is a change in the future funding for this project, the implications of this change are still being understood.