20 | REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Kapiti Coast District Council: Brian Perry Civil - Waikanae Water T T Kim Newth Key water treatment upgrade underway The $22 million upgrade of the Waikanae Water Treatment Plant s stage two of a three-staged programme of planned improvements. Kāpiti Coast District Council is reporting good progress to date on its $22 million upgrade of the Waikanae Water Treatment Plant. This important 30-month project aligns with the council’s commitment to provide safe, clean, reliable and resilient drinking water to local homes and businesses. Following the signing of the upgrade contract with Brian Perry Civil last November, the main works commenced at the Waikanae site in February 2024. Darren Edwards, chief executive of Kāpiti Coast District Council, says the Waikanae Water Treatment Plant provides water for more than 40,000 people in Waikanae, Paraparaumu and Raumati and is some of the district’s most important infrastructure. “The upgrade includes replacing ageing equipment, making the plant more efficient and improving its seismic resilience. “It’s all part of providing a safe, secure water supply for our community.” This upgrade is stage two of a three-staged programme of planned improvements. Stage one, completed in 2015, included building the district’s award-winning river recharge scheme. The latest works are part-funded by a $5.2 million grant from the government. Key parts of the project involve enabling works to move utilities; excavation works to prepare the site; building and installing a rapid mix tank (to mix coagulants and flocculants which bind fine particles in the water) and a large new clarifier tank (where bound particles clump together); as well as renewing pumps and dosing equipment. The site is also going to be made safer, with construction of a new building to house chlorine tanks and dosing systems. With a 25-metre diameter and five-metre depth, the new clarifier represents a substantial new addition at the plant and will provide a real boost to water quality as the large tank is designed to operate like a large settling pond, removing suspended particles from river water. Since February, earthworks have been in full swing to excavate the area where the new clarifier will be installed. Soil from the excavation, now completed, has been re-purposed to help build a new accessway that will allow the contractor to carry out the remaining site works without impacting the day-to-day operations of the plant. (As of mid-May, the 58-metre long ramp had been built and road surface laid, with fences and gate next in line to be built). Through June and July, a concrete base will be laid for the clarifier, followed by the installation of pre-cast walls from August to November. Water testing of the concrete structure is due to start at the end of the year. The mechanical installation and testing phase
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