Around 4 billion litres of drinking water is estimated to have been saved in Metropolitan Wellington.
Around 4 billion litres of water saved thanks to a massive reduction in leaks across the public water network

New figures show daily water loss has dropped by 11 million litres per day – that's four Olympic swimming pools saved every single day, or the daily water use of around 50,000 people. Read more
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Your Water / 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: May 2025

 


Commentary:

Major investment is required to achieve a new consent. 

Renewal of the consent is being managed as a major project, and the WWTP is 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 maintain 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 there may be a change in the funding to implement the upgrades proposed in the resource consent application. This could limit the ability to obtain the consent or result in conditions that cannot be met. This risk has been escalated through project governance structures and to SWDC.