Grey Lynn Park & Kelmarna wastewater improvements

The latest

Watercare has applied for resource consent for water quality improvement projects in the Grey Lynn and Ponsonby. Council is currently considering the application and will shortly go through a limited notification process with affected parties.

Project overview

These projects form part of our broader Western Isthmus Water Quality Improvement Programme (WIWQIP) of works which is a joint initiative between Watercare and Auckland Council. It’s aimed at reducing wastewater overflows and improving stream and beach quality across the city’s central and western isthmus.

The proposal:

• The construction of new wastewater tunnels and pipes will improve the collection and conveyance of wastewater and reduce the number of spills and uncontrolled overflows into local waterways.

• The new infrastructure will transport wastewater from several local overflows on the existing network to the Central Interceptor tunnel, which will be operative from July 2026.

• These projects will help cater for future growth in the wider catchment.

The new infrastructure consists of:

• A shaft on Watercare land at 38-42 Tawariki St, Ponsonby, for the launch of a tunnel boring machine in two directions.

• A 320m-long, 3.0m-diameter tunnel to a retrieval shaft at the Kelmarna Avenue end of Hukanui Reserve.

• A shaft and work site (‘Branch 6’) at the western end of Hukanui Reserve to connect a 1.6m diameter pipe from the Kelmarna shaft to enable future connections to the local network.

• An approximately 890m-long, 3.0m-diameter tunnel to a retrieval shaft in west-central Grey Lynn Park.

• Further pipelines in the park, then along Rose Road and down Dickens Street to connect to manholes and engineered overflow points (EOPs).

The projects will shortly move into the design phase. No date has yet been set for the commencement of construction.

The proposed tunnels, pipelines and work areas: