Desludging work on the upgrade of the Martinborough Wastewater Treatment Plant (MWWTP) has started and you may start to see increased movement in the area.

The MWWTP is currently working at capacity and in August 2022, received an abatement notice from the regulator, Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) due to non-compliant activity at the plant relating to:

• The exceedance of hydraulic load constraints when discharging to land and river and;

• Exceedances in E coli and nutrient limits when discharging to the river

This notice means that to achieve better environmental outcomes and to minimise public health risk, a series of plant upgrades need to take place to work towards full compliance.

A 10 year staged programme of works is being led by Wellington Water on behalf of South Wairarapa District Council and aligns with the plant’s resource consent requirements, which supports a gradual transition to land-based treatment rather than discharging into the rivers, as currently takes place.

The plant’s current resource consent expires in 2051.

The first task is to desludge or pump out the pond, which will remove the accumulated sludge from the bottom of the pond and reduce pond blockages. This best practice process is part of regular plant maintenance and, while it will improve plant efficiency, it is not a solution that will address Martinborough’s capacity constraints for new connections.