East Clive Wastewater Facility

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The Hastings District Council Wastewater Facility is located at the end of Richmond Road, East Clive. 

The treatment plant has the capacity to handle 2.8m³/second. The Effluent Disposal Officer manages the treatment plant, and works from both the Engineering group at the Council, and at an office at the East Clive plant.

How wastewater gets to the wastewater facility

Wastewater is flushed and drained into sewer pipes to be transported to the East Clive Plant. Gravity is usually enough to convey the wastewater but small amounts travel via pumping stations.

A vast network of sewers link all parts of Hastings, Flaxmere, Havelock North, Clive and Whakatu to the wastewater disposal system. Other areas of the Hastings District are still serviced by individual household septic tank systems.

The treatment process

Presently at East Clive, the wastewater is passed through a 1mm wedgewire milliscreen. The milliscreens are similar to barrels with mesh sides. Screened solids are pressed to remove excess water and the remaining solids are disposed of at the regional landfill, approximately 180 tonnes of effluent solids are buried in the landfill and 18 million m³ of wastewater is pumped out to sea each year.

The liquid waste passes through the screens to the grit chamber where grit is removed, before the water is pumped out to sea through a 2.8 km long outfall. The liquid waste then disposes in the sea.

Please note: Most industries treat their wastes prior to their waste being discharged to the sewage networks

Biological trickling filters

Part of this process will eventually be replaced by a biological trickling filter system, which uses naturally-occuring bacteria to break down human waste and convert it into much cleaner byproducts, which can then be discharged to sea.

Biological trickling filters are very simple systems involving a large tank filled with specially-designed plastic objects. These objects provide a large surface area for bacteria to grow, and the bacteria feed on raw milliscreened wastewater sprinkled over the top of the tank.

This approach removes the need to bury tonnes of screened solids in the landfill each year, reduces the overall treatment costs of the plant and produces a better end product to be discharged into the ocean outfall.

Tours and more information

Special interest tours of the treatment plant are available (of no more than four people) by arrangement, contact the Effluent Disposal Officer at the Council on engineeringservices@hdc.govt.nz or phone 06 878 0571 or East Clive bobm@hdc.govt.nz or phone 06 870 0243 .