A joint initiative between the Gore District Council and Mataura Valley Milk will see construction of one of the most sophisticated wastewater treatment plants in the south.
The plant, commonly referred to as the new industrial hub, has been specifically designed to treat all the wastewater from Mataura Valley Milk’s purpose-built nutrition plant at McNab, near Gore.
This initiative is one of several facets to the $240 million MVM nutrition plant development where the company and this small local authority are working collaboratively.
MVM is investing about $6.5million to build the wastewater plant. The Council will oversee construction and operate the plant once it is finished.
The new plant is being built adjacent to the Council’s existing wastewater treatment ponds, in south Gore. It will treat up to 1500 cubic metres of wastewater a day.
The Council presently treats an average of 5400 cubic metres of wastewater daily.
Gore District 3 Waters Asset Manager Matt Bayliss said it became apparent early in the planning stages that the Council’s existing wastewater ponds did not have the capacity to cope with increased loading from MVM.
“Building a new plant ensures we have environmentally and economically sustainable systems in place.”
MVM will pre-treat the wastewater on-site before piping it approximately 6km to the industrial hub where it will be treated to a standard to meet the Council’s resource consent to discharge to the Mataura River.
Most of the treatment occurs in a large tank, 27m wide by 6m high. The Council’s existing wastewater staff will operate the plant.
Mr Bayliss said the state-of-the-art industrial hub would be significantly more complex than any of the Council’s existing wastewater treatment plants.
Mataura Valley Milk General Manager Bernard May said the Gore District Council had been very supportive throughout the process from initial discussions, through to the planning process, and engagement with the company’s shareholders.
“Our project team have worked with a lot of councils around New Zealand and this is the best council we’ve dealt with,” he said.
The company’s $6.5 million investment into the district’s infrastructure made sense by providing a solution for MVM while also upgrading the domestic wastewater treatment capability for Gore district, Mr May said.
“It’s important for us to be successful as a business, and a big part of that is working with and getting the support of the community,” he said.
It is planned to commission the plant in April next year.