Featherston Wastewater Hearing Planned For Mid-year

Saturday, 8 February 2025, 9:35 pm
Article: Emily Ireland - Local Democracy Reporter

A hearing will be held in June or July this year for Featherston’s wastewater treatment plant resource consent.

Of the 29 submissions received late last year, a majority were opposed to the consent.

Five were in support and seven were neutral.

The 10-year resource consent application was lodged to the Greater Wellington Regional Council by Wellington Water on behalf of South Wairarapa District Council.

It marked another milestone in the long and fraught journey to upgrade the town’s wastewater treatment plant.

The latest proposal involved upgrading inlet screens at the treatment plant, improving equipment in the oxidation pond, and introducing a new clarification system such as Dissolved Air Flotation to reduce sediment and contaminants in the wastewater.

A constructed wetland and revegetated area would be used to enhance the quality of the treated wastewater before discharging to Donald’s Creek.

The consent conditions would also allow time to trial and implement a land application process using trickle irrigation to distribute treated wastewater without causing spray drift.

-LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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