Christchurch wastewater treatment plant

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Christchurch wastewater treatment plant
Industry wastewater treatment
Founded1882
Headquarters,
New Zealand
Area served
Christchurch
OwnerChristchurch Drainage Board (1882–1989)
Christchurch City Council (since 1989)

The Christchurch wastewater treatment plant (CWTP), also known as the Bromley sewage plant, is the New Zealand city's main wastewater treatment plant located in the suburb of Bromley adjacent to the Avon Heathcote Estuary.

Before the modern plant was built between 1958 and 1962, [1] the Drainage Board already operated a smaller facility that was known as the "sewage farm". Sewage was disposed onto sandy soil, percolated through the soil into drains that in turn discharged into the estuary. The pumping station in Linwood's Tuam Street was a major facility to get the sewage to Bromley. [2] Known today as the Pumphouse, it opened in 1882 and operated for 75 years. [3]

The land the sewage treatment plant and its oxidation ponds is built on was returned to Ngāi Tahu by the Native Land Court in 1868, only for the land to be taken again through the Public Works Act in 1958 by the Christchurch Drainage Board. [4] Ngāi Tahu's land was part of its Ihutai reserve used for mahinga ika (Māori for fish gathering). [5] The engineering design for the plant was prepared by consultants from the United States. [6]

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References

  1. "Sewage treatment works at Bromley, near Christchurch". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. 1966. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  2. Cyclopedia Company Limited (1903). "Christchurch Drainage Board". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Canterbury Provincial District. Christchurch: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand.
  3. "The Pumphouse". The Pumphouse Demolition Yard. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  4. Dalziel, Lianne (28 June 2022). "Lianne Dalziel: Knowing our past is the key to our future". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  5. "Te Kete Wānanga o Ihutai". Christchurch City Libraries . Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  6. "Treatment of sewage : Detail in U.S. plan for Christchurch". The Press . Vol. XCVI, no. 28362. 22 August 1957. p. 14. Retrieved 29 June 2022.