We’re planning to invest about $500million in wastewater infrastructure for the Hibiscus Coast between now and 2034, and that includes a major upgrade to the Army Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant. However, it’s possible that the treatment plant could reach capacity before we are able to upgrade it. We are therefore closely managing new connections to our wastewater network in area.

Current capacity

In November 2024, we estimated the Army Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant had capacity to connect approximately another 4000 homes. Since then, we have connected developments equivalent to about 850 new homes.

What does this mean for property developers and potential developers?

• Anyone with a valid building consent will be able to connect when they’re ready.

• If you have a resource consent issued before 15 November 2024 but don’t yet have a building consent, please get in touch with us to get an understanding of the remaining capacity at the treatment plant. We’ll be assessing these applications to connect on a case-by-case basis as we keep a close eye on the plant’s capacity.

• New resource consents are not currently being granted for this area if a connection to the public wastewater network is required.

• An upgrade to the Army Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant is currently scheduled for completion in 2031 in our Asset Management Plan. However, we have several initiatives underway that we hope will enable us to release capacity earlier. This includes delivering a UV disinfection upgrade early, which will increase compliance and reduce the amount of work to be done as part of the main upgrade. We will also deploy new treatment technology to our existing processes, which has the potential to increase processing capacity at the plant earlier. We will know more about this in 2027.

Use our online tool to see if your project could be impacted

Please click here before you start working on your project.