Herne Bay wastewater trunk sewer upgrade

Start-finish: 2024 – 2026
Location: Herne Bay
Status: Planning

 

We are aware that there is some opposition in the community to our proposed use of a portion of Salisbury Reserve as a construction support area (CSA) for the project. The below sets out the reasons why we are seeking consent to use a portion of Salisbury Reserve and to answer some general questions about our proposed use of the reserve. 

As you may be aware, as part of our resource consent application, we propose to use a portion of Salisbury Reserve as the primary CSA for the Project. We plan to use it together with a second CSA at 94a-94b Shelly Beach Road. Click here to see how we propose to use Salisbury Reserve.

The use of public space for CSAs is not uncommon for our projects, and we have active works and support areas located within many parks and reserves across the city. While there is often a short-term inconvenience to the community, the CSA’s enable us to achieve broader community outcomes and mitigate the extent of disruption at work sites. In all cases, the sites are only selected after considering the available locations and what works for the project. Our contractor and stakeholder teams work closely with neighbours to communities to keep them informed during construction. This proactive approach means we encounter very few issues.

The two CSAs for this project will act as hubs for the eight satellite construction sites at each shaft and will enable short term storage of materials. This will enable a reduction of materials and equipment stored at each shaft location and will reduce the size of vehicles and number of truck movements on local roads. If materials were stored at each shaft construction site, we would need to occupy a greater footprint in the road corridor which would cause significantly more environmental impacts and disruption to the local community via road closures and restrictions to property access on Sarsfield Street, Wallace Street, Argyle Street, Herne Bay Road and Upton Street. Alternatively, if we were not able to occupy a park or reserve within the vicinity of the project works area, it is likely we would need to consider acquiring private property to use as construction support space.

We wish to start work on this project in late 2024 or early 2025 and seek to utilise a portion of Salisbury Reserve for a period of up to two years.  Since the resource consent application was lodged in June 2023, we have revised the extent of land required in Salisbury Reserve to address some concerns raised by the community.  The image below shows the indicative land use we propose to occupy. Once Salisbury Reserve (and the area at 94a-94b Shelly Beach Road) is no longer required, it will be remediated back to at least its original condition. This will be a requirement of the resource consent if granted.

Application and next steps  

We lodged the resource consent application for the project with Auckland Council on 30 June 2023. We requested that Auckland Council publicly notify the application in the interests of full public disclosure and transparency. The application was notified on 5 September 2023 and was open for submissions until 3 October 2023. Several submissions were received from residents in the Herne Bay area before the deadline.

On Tuesday 30 January a hearing was held by Auckland Council and the Waitematā Local Board on the proposal to lease Salisbury Reserve as a CSA for the Herne Bay project. Thank you for the residents who provided a submission and provided evidence at the hearing.

A hearing of our resource consent application will go before independent commissioners on 20 and 21 February 2024. This will allow those who places submissions to be heard and raise their concerns.

Frequently Asked Questions

We realise that the community may have several questions in relation to the project and the proposed use of Salisbury Reserve as a CSA. Please click here for our Frequently Asked Questions document.

• Herne Bay Trunk Sewer AEE

• Appendix A - Permitted Activities

• Appendix B - Proposed Conditions

• Appendix C - Records of Title

• Appendix D1 - Geotechnical Assessment

• Appendix D2 - Draft GSMCP

• Appendix E1 - PSI

• Appendix E2 - Draft CSMP

• Appendix F - Integrated Traffic Assessment

• Appendix G - Arboricultural Assessment

• Appendix H - Archaeological Assessment

• Appendix I - General Arrangement Drawings

• Appendix J - Construction Methodology

• Appendix K1 - Noise and Vibration Assessment

• Appendix K2 - Draft CNVMP

• Appendix L1 - Draft ESCP

• Appendix L2 - ESCP Report

• Appendix M - Objectives and Policies Assessment

• Appendix N - Options Assessment Memo

The original proposal focused on separating the old, combined stormwater and wastewater pipes directing stormwater to the environment and wastewater to the Māngere Wastewater Treatment Plant via the Orakei main. The project included a new public wastewater network, storage and a new pump station at Point Erin as well as private drainage separation and connections. 

We had to unfortunately defer this project due to an unaffordable escalation in costs. The work has been heavily impacted by geotechnical design issues and escalating material, labour, and traffic management costs. The result has been a doubling in the original forecast.  

We remain committed to delivering a solution for the ongoing wastewater overflow challenges and have been working closely with Auckland Council to find an alternative which will allow us to deliver cleaner beaches and waterways by 2028 while remaining committed to separation in the longer term.

The proposal

The proposed Herne Bay trunk sewer will support the extension of the Central Interceptor (CI) wastewater conveyance and storage tunnel from Tawariki Street in Grey Lynn to a new drop shaft in Point Erin.  

In parallel with the CI extension, the Herne Bay trunk sewer will ensure combined overflows are picked up and conveyed to Māngere Wastewater Treatment Plant for safe treatment, reducing overflows to the environment and improving the quality of waterways and swimmable beaches by 2028.  

An overview of the Herne Bay wastewater trunk sewer is as follows:

• The proposed new pipelines are primarily 2.1 metres in diameter and will be constructed via a tunnel boring machine underneath the road. Approximately 8 shaft locations are required for this trenchless construction method. Please refer to map below showing the exact location of the proposed works.

• For small diameter pipelines as part of the proposal along Marine Parade (600mm in diameter) and local connections to the existing engineering overflow points (between 200mm to 450mm in diameter), these pipelines will be constructed via open trenching.

• Construction will occur sequentially over different road sections. The total construction period will take approximately 18 months. We will provide more specific details closer to construction.

• ​The map below shows the proposed work area:

What is the timeline for the proposed works?

The Herne Bay wastewater trunk sewer will be constructed between 2024 to 2026. Closer to the construction dates we will provide more specific dates. Please refer to timeline below. Please note, these dates are only an estimate and are subject to change.

Point Erin Central Interceptor extension: Park infrastructure works

We are proposing new works in Point Erin Park to help reduce wastewater overflows onto local beaches. Find out more about the works here.

Any questions?

Please email [email protected]
 

Newsletters

Herne Bay newsletter August 2023