Consents and Public Feedback

When the Resource Management Act was introduced in 1991, water and wastewater utilities were provided with a 10-year moratorium on their discharges into the environment. Watercare was formed in 1992 and undertook an extensive survey of its network and of its customers to clarify the issues and what needed to be done to satisfy the Auckland Regional Council and customer expectations.

Project Storm, computer modelled the wastewater network performance and gave a detailed environmental assessment of stormwater overflows. Stakeholder discussions and 600 face-to-face interviews to identify their concerns.

Potential overflows are a risk to the environment and public safety. Watercare has assessed that over 99% of all wastewater flow reaches the treatment plant. Watercare's policies are designed to achieve a high level of safety and focus on prevention, early warning, rapid response and contingency planning.