More than 250 people visited the newly-reopened Pukekohe Water Treatment Plant recently to explore and learn the role it plays in Auckland’s integrated water network.
The plant resumed operations in early December, providing an additional five million litres of water per day to customers in Pukekohe and Buckland, easing the demand on the wider
metropolitan water network that serves Auckland.
The Pukekohe Water Treatment Plant Open Day was hosted by Watercare on Saturday March 8.
Watercare southern water treatment manager Tom Wallace, who was one of the educators on the day, said that attendees left with a better grasp of the treatment water must go through before it reaches their taps.
“At the event, people had the opportunity to explore the site and talk directly to members of our water production team, at times throwing in the odd curly question or two.
“The event was also a great way for people to appreciate the complexities and the vastness of our network, which supplies around 440 million litres of water a day to about 1.7 million people in the Auckland region.”
Wallace said they also talked about the importance of using water wisely, given the dry weather the region is experiencing.
“Our four-minute shower timers went down well – as did the sausages and ice creams!”
Watercare capital delivery general manager Suzanne Lucas said the event was a great way for the community to see the work Watercare has put in to bring the plant back into service.
“The plant was taken out of service after experiencing severe flood damage during the 2023 Auckland Anniversary floods [which] destroyed essential infrastructure, including the chemical dosing system and electrical equipment.”
She said that instead of rebuilding immediately, the team worked with contractors to redesign the plant, relocating key components like the control room to higher ground and burying major electrical cables to reduce future flood risks.
Construction of a new dosing system at the plant is planned to be integrated into the treatment process by mid-year.
The new dosing system that’s being installed will replace the current liquid dosing system with a new self-generating system that will use a sensor to monitor the pH level of the water and automatically adjust the chemical feed rate to maintain the desired levels.
Avocado tree planted at Hickey’s Reserve
A two-year-old avocado tree was also planted at the recent Pukekohe Water Treatment Plant open day in the community orchard behind Hickey’s Reserve.
The tree, donated by resident Matthew Gouge, is his family’s way of giving back to the
community they’ve called home for four years.
“When we moved to Pukekohe, I was amazed by the variety and accessibility of fruit in this
orchard.
“The avocado tree originated as a self-seeded seedling in my compost heap. It is vigorous and I expect it will become a productive fruiting tree – making it the perfect addition to the orchard,” Gouge said.
The orchard, initiated by Stewart Bent with support from the Franklin District Council, was
created to make better use of the land.
Bent said it took him and a small team about three years from around 2007 to plant around 200 trees, including citrus, peaches, plums, and apricots.
“Although many original trees are gone, it’s nice to know people still collect fruit,” said Bent, who recently picked cooking apples there.
