Infrastructure upgrades  |  5 Mar 2019

Work on a $53 million project to upgrade wastewater services in the Lyttelton harbour area is moving to a crucial phase, with work under way on a new pump station at Simeon Quay.

An aerial shot of the Port of Lyttelton.

A new pump station is being built at Simeon Quay.

The new pump station will connect to two submarine pipelines that have been built to carry untreated wastewater from the townships of Governors Bay and Diamond Harbour to Lyttelton.

It is being built to pump the untreated wastewater, via new pipelines, through the Lyttelton Tunnel and onto the existing Woolston pump station. From there the wastewater will be pumped through to the Christchurch Wastewater Treatment Plant in Bromley.

Currently, wastewater from Lyttelton, Governors Bay and Diamond Harbour is treated at wastewater treatment plants in each of the townships before being discharged through outfall pipelines into Lyttelton Harbour.

Christchurch City Council City Services General Manager David Adamson says the start of work on the new pump station means the Council is another step closer to bringing an end to the routine discharge of treated wastewater into Lyttelton Harbour.

“The pump station on Simeon Quay is a vital part of the new wastewater system we are building and the most visible aspect of this multimillion-dollar project.

“Construction of the pump station will have some impact on traffic in the Simeon Quay area, but our contractors will be doing their best to minimise the disruptions,’’ Mr Adamson says.

Work on the fourth and final stage of the Lyttelton Harbour wastewater scheme will begin in March, which involves laying several kilometres of new underground pipeline to carry the wastewater from Heathcote to Woolston.

The entire project is planned for completion and commissioning by early 2020.