Beachlands and Maraetai are located around 24km east of central Auckland, along Whitford Maraetai Road. Whitford is situated about 5km east of south Auckland's Flat Bush, and all areas are in the Franklin Local Board area. The Beachlands and Maraetai communities have a combined population of around 9,600 and Whitford has 3,000.
We currently provide wastewater (sewage) services for the Beachlands and Maraetai areas. These services must meet a level of service for customers and must comply with legislation and consents. Our wastewater infrastructure enables us to collect wastewater and treat it to make it safe for discharge back into the environment. We do not have any water supply infrastructure in the area.
Careful planning for such growth will be important to the prosperity and wellbeing of the area and the health of these communities. When we are considering future demand for water and wastewater services as part of the servicing strategy, it will be important to think about not just the next 25 years of growth, but also about providing long-term sustainable services for at least the next 70 years. Why? Because assets like dams, pipelines, pumps and treatment plants have to be built to last and operate effectively for the long term.
We are keen to hear from your community and collaborate in the development of longer-term water and wastewater solutions. There are many trade-offs to consider, but together we can ensure Beachlands and Maraetai continue to be supported with reliable wastewater services, while we explore the opportunities to provide safe reliable drinking water for the communities.
On this page you will find information about the Beachlands, Maraetai and Whitford communities’ servicing strategy. There is also network overview information and the plans for the long-term wastewater services in these areas which includes: updates on key milestones such as Wastewater treatment plant consent renewals, regulation or plan changes.
Servicing strategy document
The Beachlands, Maraetai and Whitford Village servicing strategy will be available on 31 October. Thanks to everyone who provided advice and feedback on the servicing strategy. You gave us a clear understanding of your thoughts and helped us gain insight into what you want and value most. We will ensure this is considered within the strategy. We look forward to sharing the document with you, and continuing to create quality services that promote healthy and vibrant communities, while being resilient to future challenges like climate change.
Beachlands Wastewater Treatment Plant: 35 year consent renewal
As part of our planning for your future wastewater solution, we’d like to meet, chat and hear your views on the options being considered. The Beachlands Wastewater Treatment Plant currently discharges treated wastewater into a tributary of the Te Puru stream. We want your feedback on the long list of discharge options.
To share your views, join us from 5pm-7.30pm on Thursday 26 October at Te Puru Community Centre.
The servicing strategy sets out the long-term plan to ensure we continue to provide safe and reliable water and wastewater services. The strategy helps guide where we invest funding for these long-term plans to ensure our network continues to operate reliably as your community grows and the climate changes. It is also important to ensure we protect the environment by meeting our consent conditions.
Through this strategy, we are committing to making decisions that balance our commitment to Te Mana o te wai by ensuring that our services remain affordable. During the development of the strategy, we engaged with the Franklin Local Board and held a community event in June to understand what the community care about.
The following themes emerged from the session:
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Protection and enhancement of the environment
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Clean, easily accessible swimmable beaches, clean streams, and areas for children to play
Areas the community considered needed improvement or attention:
The community want to see the following in the future:
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Engagement in community projects and creation of opportunities to help educate children
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Town to tank programme where rainwater is used first then town supply
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Future proofing for climate change
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Enhancement of streams and beaches
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Net zero waste i.e. water is treated and reused within the community
Sharing the strategy gives us a reference point to guide continued dialogue with the community. We want to ensure everyone can access this servicing strategy and understand the water and wastewater issues, the opportunities in the Beachlands, Maraetai and Whitford Village, and our approach to addressing them. We also want to hear feedback on whether this is a sound strategy, whether there are better ideas, and what we may have missed. This strategy will prepare us and your communities for the complex conversations we need to have about water and wastewater services. We are committed to transparency and accountability, are happy to be challenged and encourage you to share ideas for improvement.
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The population of the area is about 9,600, with 3,200 houses are connected to the wastewater network
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Wastewater is treated at the Beachlands Wastewater Treatment Plant
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The wastewater network has 85Km of pipes and 13 pump stations
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The plant discharges the treated wastewater into the Te Puru Stream under a discharge consent that expires in 2025
We don't provide water supply services to Beachlands and Maraetai. These communities rely largely on private connections to groundwater, rainwater tanks and a private tanker filling service.
We don't provide water or wastewater services to Whitford.
If we continue to provide the same level of service for Beachlands and Maraetai, the community will continue to have an independent wastewater supply. This means that the area will have its own wastewater treatment plant and will not be dependent on the larger metropolitan Auckland plants. As the community grows, there are a number of considerations that need to be considered when planning for the future:
Demand for services
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As the communities grow, they will use more water and energy, and produce more waste. This can cause problems for our infrastructure. If we don't act, we might experience service disruptions in the future.
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As Beachlands, Maraetai and Whitford continue to develop, the demand for water will increase. Right now, the area relies on rain tanks which need to be topped in using metropolitan supply sometimes. But looking ahead, should we focus on finding water sources, or recycle water or should we connect to Auckland’s metropolitan water network? Keep in mind that central Auckland is also facing ever-growing demands.
- The existing population in Beachlands and Maraetai is estimated to be around 9,600 people. The resource consent for wastewater treatment and discharge allows for a total of 10,000 people to connect to the plant. The solution for Beachlands’ and Maraetai’s wastewater needs to accommodate future growth and ensure that we can continue to provide reliable wastewater services for the area.
Climate change
Extreme weather events like floods, droughts, and severe storms can damage water infrastructure and disrupt service delivery, impacting the community. To prepare for these events, we will need to consider implementing measures such as building flood protection systems, using materials that are less vulnerable to damage, and establishing emergency plans. Question: How can residents and businesses play a part in reducing impacts of droughts and floods, such as loss of life or reduced public amenity or property damage?
Environmental impacts
Beachlands, Maraetai and Whitford are fortunate to be next to waterways which lead into the Pohutukawa Coast and Hauraki Gulf. However, this sensitive environment can be impacted by additional water takes, infrastructure and services. Question: What other water sources are available? What about water reuse, demand reduction and sustainable options? How do we reduce the impact on the environment and/or enhance the health of our waterways?
Together, we need to consider these factors when we plan for the future. You can share your community’s needs and aspirations as well as your thoughts on the water and wastewater servicing strategy for your area. This will help us to better understand what the community values and cares about regarding water and wastewater services.
Have a question or suggestion? Contact us at
[email protected]
Let's work together to build a better future for Beachlands, Maraetai and Whitford.
