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Inglewood oxidation pond stops overflowing

Local News
PUBLISHED: 22 MAY 2021
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22 May 2021

  • The backlog of partially treated wastewater overflowing at the Inglewood oxidation pond (sewage treatment pond) has been cleared.
  • We apologise for the incident and thank everyone for their patience while our staff worked hard to fix it.
  • Heavy rain and storms earlier in the week caused the overflow into the Kurapete Stream, which flows into the Maunganui River.
  • Most of the overflow was rainwater and was partially treated but Do Not Swim warnings remain in place at both the Stream and the River.
  • We quickly notified the regulators, TRC and TDHB, iwi and hapu and other recreational users.
  • Check our Can I Swim webpage for the latest info.
  • While it’s not ideal, we do have a TRC consent for the overflow in times of heavy rain.
  • Our Mayor and Councillors have this week recommended including a $248 million investment to upgrade our water networks in our next 10-Year budget which will help prevent issues like this in future.

 

19 May 2021

Inglewood overflow, update 3pm, 19 May 2021

  • Staff are working hard to clear the backlog of water as quickly as possible from an Inglewood oxidation pond (sewage treatment pond) which overflowed due to heavy rain and storms yesterday afternoon.
  • The partially treated water volume was down from an estimated peak of 335,000 litres an hour to about 240,000 litres, with about 165,000 litres being pumped to the New Plymouth treatment plant.
  • Most of the overflow is rainwater and is partially treated but Do Not Swim warnings remain in place on the Kurapete Stream and Maunganui River. The overflow is likely to stop as the weather clears.
  • The region has been drenched with rain and it’s important to note for the first four months of this year, the average flow to the New Plymouth treatment plant was 60,000 litres an hour.
  • We regret and apologise for this incident and have been in touch with Iwi and other recreational users.
  • It’s not ideal but it’s worth noting the Taranaki Regional Council resource consent allows for the overflow in times of heavy rain.
  • Keep up to date with water quality warnings at our Can I Swim page.

 

18 May 2021

Heavy rainfall over the last 12 hours has overwhelmed Inglewood’s oxidation pond, a settling pond where sewage is treated, causing an overflow of partially treated wastewater into Kurapete Stream which flows into the Maunganui River.

It’s been estimated approximately 335,000 litres per hour of partially treated wastewater is being discharged. Staff are onsite monitoring the situation and working hard to stop the overflow by pumping as much through to the New Plymouth treatment plant as possible but it’s only likely to stop when the heavy rainfall abates.

“We regret and apologise for this incident. The majority of the overflow is rainwater, but we urge caution and we’ve alerted the Taranaki Regional Council and the Taranaki District Health Board as regulators, and been in touch with iwi and hapū and other recreational users,” says Mark Hall, NPDC’s Water Manager.

Warning signs have been erected and nobody should swim in the Manganui until the signs are removed. Keep up to date with the latest information on the Can I Swim page on our website.

While the cause of this incident was the heavy rainfall the overflow is impacted by limitations to the region’s wastewater infrastructure, with Councillors set to deliberate tomorrow whether to invest $248 million over the next decade in upgrading the District’s water network.

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Page last updated: 10:16pm Tue 26 October 2021

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