Making the Wastewater Treatment Plant less stinky
Can you smell the wastewater treatment plant on Kioreroa Road? đ·
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.
đ© 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)
đ· 2: the sludge thickener tanks (that reduce the water in the sludge prior to disposal)
đ« 3: the sludge holding tanks (exactly what they sound like)
đđ 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. Itâs 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 â 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 âfew snailsâ 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.
Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut
This Wednesday, we're having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.
John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcutâs #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharpâwhether itâs on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!
As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say heâs as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!
John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.
Share your question below now âŹïž
Poll: Should all neighbours have to contribute to improvements?
An Auckland court has ruled a woman doesnât have to contribute towards the cost of fixing a driveway she shares with 10 neighbours.
When thinking about fences, driveways or tree felling, for example, do you think all neighbours should have to pay if the improvements directly benefit them?
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82.5% Yes
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14.8% No
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2.7% Other - I'll share below
What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?
Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.
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