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Wastewater

Wastewater is anything that goes down a drain inside your home or business – from your kitchen, to your laundry, to your bathroom.

It includes:

  • Blackwater: Water from toilets.
  • Greywater: Water from showers, baths, basins, and washing machines. With the right plumbing, greywater can be recycled to water your garden.

The only thing that should ever be flushed down your toilet is the three Ps – pee, poo, and (toilet) paper.

Wet wipes, paper towels, and tissues are highly absorbent and don't break down well in pipes – even ones that claim to be flushable. They cause blockages when they mix with fats, oils, and grease that have been poured down your sink.

We aren’t responsible for unblocking pipes on private properties, so if yours get blocked with wet wipes you’ll be required to cover the cost of a plumber.

  • Connected Residents: About 56% of residents are connected to our wastewater network, which includes over 24,000 connections.
  • Journey of Wastewater: Wastewater flows from your property through a network of large pipes to a collection point called a wet well, and then on to treatment plants.
  • Treatment Plants: We have five wastewater treatment plants in Waihī Beach, Katikati, Te Puke, Maketu, and a holding plant in Ōmokoroa.
    • Ōmokoroa: Wastewater here is sent to Tauranga City Council’s treatment plant for processing.
    • Waihī Beach Plant: This plant serves Island View, Bowentown, Pio Shores, and Athenree.

This system ensures that wastewater is treated properly and returned to the environment in a safe and sustainable way.

To keep our plants running perfectly and that our treated wastewater (TWW) we complete continuous wastewater sampling to meet conditions in the resource consents and for our general day to day operations. We have plants in Maketu, Te Puke, Katikati, Waihi Beach and Ongare Point. Each plant operates differently but has the same goal - treat our wastewater to the best, to ensure the end result of making sure it doesn't negatively impact the environment!

How does wastewater get to the Treatment Plant – From your property wastewater is either pumped, gravity fed or a combination of both as it travels through a network of below ground pipework.

Although our treatment plants all operate in slightly different ways the process generally remains the same and uses a Biological type of treatment, meaning bugs or microorganisms are used instead of chemicals to produce a high standard treated water to the receiving environment.

Sometimes rainwater or groundwater can get into wastewater pipes through illegal connections or broken pipes. This can cause problems in our system – we call this “inflow” or “infiltration”. It’s important to make sure your property is connected properly. Learn how to connect here.

To connect your property to our water system, head to our connection page here.

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