60 | CONTRACTING Almond Contractors M4 PLUMBING & GASFITTING Your trusted Master Plumber and Gasfitter Auckland wide • Residential • Commercial • Maintenance • Gasfitting • Hot Water Issues • Roofing • Blocked Drains • Emergency Callouts • Pumps info@m4plumbing.co.nz m4plumbing.co.nz 022 461 1334 Help is one call away. Sensitive approach a success The upgrade has improved the Whatipū Lodge and campground’s off-grid water system. T T Kelly Deeks A remote water upgrade at Whatipū earned Almond Contractors a finalist spot in the CCNZ Hynds Construction wards, recognising a project that demanded heavy manual work in an environmentally sensitive part of Auckland. The $1.48 million Whatipū Water Upgrade for Auckland Council was completed at the start of this year, with the Almond Contractors team working for about three to four months on improvements serving Whatipū Lodge and its campground. Project Manager Kerwyn Lee says one of the biggest challenges was building the retaining walls for new water tanks on a steep hillside, about 45 metres above the work area. “There was no machinery access, so we had to winch all of our materials and people up into the work area, and use a lot of manual labour,” Kerwyn says. “It was physically very taxing.” The project was also carried out beside a stream in an isolated and environmentally sensitive location, requiring extensive erosion and sediment controls. The team worked closely with the lodge operators throughout the project, with two resident eels providing an unexpected measure of how well the environmental controls were working. “They were found throughout the whole project, so that was a good indication that our environmental controls were working well,” Kerwyn says. The upgrade has improved the lodge and campground’s off-grid water system, including installing pipework to capture roof water and direct it to new header tanks, creating greater water storage and resilience. The work included replacing downpipes, installing new MDPE water supply pipelines to and from the tanks, and minor upgrades to water treatment at the campground. The increased storage is expected to make the site less vulnerable during dry periods, while the roof-water system supports its existing off-grid operation, which includes power generation. The project was delivered on Auckland Council-owned land in the Waitākere Ranges, with the council leasing the lodge and campground to a private operator. Almond Contractors was named a finalist in the Project Awards, Company Turnover Less Than $25m, Category B for projects valued between $1m and $10m. Kerwyn says the recognition is particularly meaningful for a company whose team is more focused on doing a good job than collecting accolades. “We don’t really do it to be recognised, we do it because we’re very passionate about our jobs,” he says. “It is nice that people care about what we have done, and that’s the biggest takeaway for us, that we have an impact and people are aware that we have an impact.” Almond Contractors specialises in drainage, plumbing, haulage and civil infrastructure work across Auckland and Northland, with current projects ranging from smaller jobs to larger public infrastructure work. The company is also preparing for further stormwater work, alongside its ongoing water and public infrastructure projects. For Kerwyn, the Whatipū finalist recognition belongs to the wider team that delivered a technically demanding project in a sensitive location. “This award is for the team,” he says.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=