Business South March 2021

38 | DAIRY INDUSTRY Westland Milk Products Ocean Outfall project at cutting edge T Richard Loader Mark Lockington: “We dismissed a weighted pipe on the seabed because the sea was too rough.” T wenty-two metres under the seabed at its deepest point, a pipeline 0.5m in internal diameter extends 800m out to sea from the coastline near Hokitika. This undersea pipeline forms part of Westland Milk Products (WMP) Ocean Outfall project designed to discharge highly treated wastewater from the company’s Hokitika plant into the ocean. The project was designed to overcome the practical and environmental limitations the company was grappling with under its current system of wastewater disposal into the Hokiti- ka River. Resource Consent to do this expires on March 6 this year and will not be renewed. While the Ocean Outfall Project has been in the pipeline for a number of years, approval for the $26 million project was given by the former Westland Dairy Cooperative Board in July 2019 with work commencing shortly after- wards and following Westland Milk Products acquisition by Yili. The project involves the installation of a 4.3 km of underground pipeline from the Hokitika plant to the outfall terminus site, 2.0 kilometres north of Hokitika. The pipe then travels from a deaeration chamber a further 800 metres out to sea. Mark Lockington, WMP’s GM Environment and Milk Supply, says that while ocean outfalls are not new technology, the West Coast’s rugged geographical features dictated that an underground pipeline discharging to sea was the best solution. “We dismissed a weighted pipe on the sea- bed because the sea was too rough,’’ he said. “We didn’t use an overhead structure because of the aesthetics, and land discharge wasn’t feasible.” T to page 40 PLEASED TO SUPPORT WESTLAND MILK PRODUCTS LTD • TIMBER PACKAGING SPECIALISTS SUPPLYING ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE WOODEN PALLETS TO WESTLAND MILK PRODUCTS • QUALITY PRODUCTS & SERVICE ON TIME, EVERY TIME • SUPPLIERS OF NEW & RECYCLED PALLETS TO THE DAIRY INDUSTRY • ISO 9001:2015 REGISTERED • ISPM15 CERTIFIED • PEFC CERTIFIED SRS New Zealand are proud to supply Westland Milk Products for more than 25 years 820 Jones Road, Rolleston, 7675 03 347 4537 all inquiries go to www.srs.co.nz N E W Z E A L A N D Proudly producing quality timber products since 1964. At the heart of dairy excellence. GEA is proud to support the dairy industry from farm to table. gea.com/nz At GEA, engineering is just the start. We RďHU ZRUOG OHDGLQJ SURFHVV WHFKQRORJLHV IRU WKH JOREDO GDLU\ DQG IRRG LQGXVWULHV DORQJ ZLWK IDUPLQJ DQG PLONLQJ WHFKQRORJLHV IRU IDUPHUV DOO RYHU WKH ZRUOG *($ÝV UDQJH RI HTXLSPHQW DQG VROXWLRQV HQVXUH WKH JOREDO GDLU\ LQGXVWU\ FDQ HĒFLHQWO\ DQG VXVWDLQDEO\ PHHW GHPDQG Ú IURP IUHVK TXDOLW\ PLON RQ IDUP ULJKW WKURXJK WR SUHPLXP GDLU\ SURGXFWV