Currently wastewater from Lyttelton, Governors Bay and Diamond Harbour is fully treated at wastewater treatment plants in each of the townships before being discharged through outfall pipelines into Lyttleton Harbour. The target is to have all planned discharges of wastewater to the Harbour end by 2021.
Construction of the Lyttelton Harbour wastewater project is being carried out across four phases. Learn more about the different work involved.
Phase one
A fibreglass pipeline has been installed above the Lyttelton tunnel to transport wastewater from Lyttelton. This work is being carried out in conjunction with NZTA’s fire protection upgrade work on the tunnel.
Phase two
Phase two involved installing submarine pipelines buried approximately one metre under the seabed to transport untreated wastewater from the Governors Bay and Diamond Harbour wastewater treatment plants to Naval Point in Lyttelton. New underground pipes were installed to connect the Lyttelton wastewater treatment plant to the Simeon Quay pump station and the pump station to the Lyttelton tunnel wastewater pipe.
Phase three
We’re building pump stations at the Governors Bay, Diamond Harbour and Lyttelton wastewater treatment plants as well as a new pump station at Simeon Quay in Lyttelton. Work on this phase started in July 2018 and is currently planned for completion and commissioning in early 2020.
Phase four
Construction on this final phase started in March 2019. This phase involves installation of an underground pipeline connecting the Lyttelton wastewater system to the Christchurch Wastewater system via Heathcote and Woolston.
The Heathcote Valley pipeline will run from the Heathcote side of Tunnel Road, under Bridle Path Road and through Port Hills Road to Mauger Drive and Scruttons Road, under the paddocks parallel to Tunnel Road, under the Heathcote River and connecting to the Woolston pump station in Alport Place.
From there the wastewater will be pumped through to the Christchurch Wastewater Treatment Plant in Bromley. Construction is currently planned for completion and commissioning in early 2020.