$3.5m boost for sludge removal project

Work is under way to remove decades-old sludge from a storage lagoon at the New Plymouth Wastewater Treatment Plant, with help from $3.5 million of Government funding.

It is the largest New Plymouth District Council project to get investment from the Government’s $523m nationwide three waters stimulus and reform package, announced last year.

In an emailed release, the council said the same amphibious Truxor machines used to remove silt from Pukekura Park were now sucking about 7000 cubic metres of sludge dating back to 1990 out of the lagoon.

The sludge will sit in large tubes while the water drains out for the next six to 12 months, and the remaining sludge will then be taken to a landfill.

‘‘Once this sludge lagoon is empty, it’ll open up the land for future expansion of the treatment plant – something we’ll need as the district’s population continues to grow,’’ NPDC group manager planning and infrastructure David Langford said in the release.

Langford said the funding meant the sludge project could be taken off the to-do list.

‘‘The Truxor worked really well last year in getting the buildup of silt out of many of Pukekura Park’s lakes, and I expect it’ll work just as well at the treatment plant,’’ Langford said.

In total, NPDC is getting $10 million from the Government’s Covid-19 Fund for water projects in the district.

As well as the $3.5m sludge project, another $1.5m will enable the council to upgrade the West Quay sewer pump station in Waitara so that it will not flood when the river runs high, increasing its ability to operate at those times.

Other projects to benefit from the Government’s investment include repairs to a stormwater culvert beneath Waiwaka Tce in New Plymouth, cleaning Inglewood’s water reservoir, and maintenance/upgrades of the New Plymouth Waste Water Treatment Plant buildings and systems.