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Customer: Western Bay of Plenty District Council Contract: Design & Construct Location: Bay of Plenty, New Zealand   |
Fast Facts:
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We’re starting construction on the country’s first wastewater treatment plant that will use INVENT’s Sequence Batch Reactor® (iSBR®) - a system already operating successfully at wastewater treatment plants around the world.
During the ECI phase, our project team had the opportunity to work with the Western Bay of Plenty District Council early in the design stage. We proposed how iSBR® would minimise the footprint of the treatment plant and the cost of the build, compared to traditional treatment plants.
iSBR® uses a single reactor tank to treat wastewater in a continuous sequence from aeration to settling to decanting. Wastewater is constantly being added to the tank and hydraulics inside the tank aerates the mixtures separating solids from water.
The water then goes to the Ultraviolet (UV) radiation treatment stage, which will kill more bacteria and treat effluent to a higher standard, which is better for local waterways.
Because several stages of treatment are completed in the same tank, fewer structures are needed, and the plant uses less power, making the process more efficient.
The cost savings and better environmental outcomes of this modern method, aligned with Council’s goals to increase capacity, improve treated wastewater quality while also improving resilience, leads to a world class WWTP delivered right here in Te Puke.
“The INVENT iSBR® treatment process has been proven overseas, was critically reviewed by local process experts, and will provide the Gordon Street WWTP with a cost-efficient, maintenance-friendly and robust treatment process, which will be a first in the country,” says Sven Harlos, Water Sector Lead, McConnell Dowell New Zealand and Pacific.
Work onsite will commence in January 2026 and the project is expected to take two to three years to complete.
- Earthworks begin January 2026
- Main construction begins mid 2026
- Project completion 2028 - 2029
Once complete, the Gordon Street WWTP project will be able to service an additional 3,000 people, enabling future growth in Te Puke.
The world-leading iSBR® water purification system by INVENT is licensed to McConnell Dowell in New Zealand. If you would like to know more, please contact Water Sector Lead, Sven Harlos.
