Making the Wastewater Treatment Plant less stinky
Can you smell the wastewater treatment plant on Kioreroa Road? 🐷
We've got a plan to make it less smelly: covers and odour treatment systems (bio filters) will be installed around the four stinkiest parts of the plant between now and September 2025. What are those 4 parts? Buckle up.
💩 1: the inlet works (where the untreated sewage comes in for treating), screenings bin (where the lumps go, including old barbie dolls and false teeth)
😷 2: the sludge thickener tanks (that reduce the water in the sludge prior to disposal)
🟫 3: the sludge holding tanks (exactly what they sound like)
🐌🐌 4. the snail bin. The water treatment plant has four large trickling filters - large round bins filled with granite rock. The wastewater trickles over the rocks and the algae growing on them. The algae take massive amounts of nutrients out of the wastewater and clean it up. It’s a very robust and natural process, accelerated by engineering and technology.
The algae attract small snails (3mm), which just love the environment in the trickling filter – it is wet and full of food. The snails grow there by the billions. Every now and then, a few snails are swept out with the wastewater and are filtered out before the water goes to further cleaning.
Those “few snails” however, add up to 2-3 cubic metres per week. We put them in our snail bin and empty it weekly. However, this is long enough for it to over-power all the other smells in the wastewater treatment plant.
Time to Tickle Your Thinker 🧠
If a zookeeper had 100 pairs of animals in her zoo, and two pairs of babies are born for each one of the original animals, then (sadly) 23 animals don’t survive, how many animals do you have left in total?
Do you think you know the answer? Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm on the day!
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Poll: As a customer, what do you think about automation?
The Press investigates the growing reliance on your unpaid labour.
Automation (or the “unpaid shift”) is often described as efficient ... but it tends to benefit employers more than consumers.
We want to know: What do you think about automation?
Are you for, or against?
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9.5% For. Self-service is less frustrating and convenient.
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43.4% I want to be able to choose.
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47.1% Against. I want to deal with people.
Have you got New Zealand's best shed? Show us and win!
Once again, Resene and NZ Gardener are on the hunt for New Zealand’s best shed! Send in the photos and the stories behind your man caves, she sheds, clever upcycled spaces, potty potting sheds and colourful chicken coops. The Resene Shed of the Year 2026 winner receives $1000 Resene ColorShop voucher, a $908 large Vegepod Starter Pack and a one-year subscription to NZ Gardener. To enter, tell us in writing (no more than 500 words) why your garden shed is New Zealand’s best, and send up to five high-quality photos by email to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz. Entries close February 23, 2026.
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