Updates on work to deliver significant wastewater infrastructure upgrades across the Upper Clutha.
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Upper Clutha Wastewater Conveyance Scheme
Newsletter #3 | February 2026
Welcome to our third newsletter on the Upper Clutha Wastewater Conveyance Scheme.
Read on for updates on work to deliver significant wastewater infrastructure upgrades across the Upper Clutha.
Pump station upgrades underway on Riverbank Road
Photo credit: Fulton Hogan
Crews are busy working to upgrade the Riverbank Road wastewater pump station (WWPS) as part of Zone 4, which includes constructing a new and larger control room to operate more powerful pumps, a new wet well that holds wastewater before it’s pumped to Project Pure Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), and emergency storage tanks in the event the WWPS becomes inactive.
And over the coming months, we’ll also be installing sections of the new wastewater pipeline from the upgraded pump station and through to Mount Iron Roundabout.
This work is being completed in three stages detailed below. Each stage has been designed to reduce disruption as much as possible while ensuring the safety of our workers.
Stage 1: Pump station construction
Underway
Both lanes of Riverbank Road can be used between Mount Iron Roundabout and Ballantyne Road, but stop/go is operating to get traffic safely around the pump station site.
Stage 2: Pump station construction and pipe installation
Starting early March
The southbound lane of Riverbank Road will be closed between Mount Iron Roundabout and Ballantyne Road with a detour via SH84 & Ballantyne Road. This closure is required to keep crews safe while the pipeline is being installed.
The lane closure will start at the roundabout and head towards the pump station, allowing crews to open the southbound lane for local residents incrementally. We’ll install VMS boards soon to ensure drivers are well aware of the lane closure.
The northbound lane of Riverbank
Road will remain open and be chicaned around the pump station site.
Please note: Both lanes of Riverbank Road will be open during Easter (3-6 April 2026), with a reduced speed limit of 30km/h.
Stage 3: Pump station construction
Starting after Easter Weekend
Both lanes of Riverbank Road will be able to be used between Mount Iron Roundabout and Ballantyne. But like during Stage 1, stop/go will be operating to get traffic safely around the pump station site.
Traffic lights will remain in place until work within Zone 4 is completed in September 2026.
Why do we need traffic management on Riverbank Road for so long?
The Riverbank Road WWPS is a critical part of Wānaka’s wastewater network, and it is essential that this infrastructure continues to operate while we construct the new control room.
To complete this work, controls and machinery from the existing control room have been transferred to a temporary container sitting within the road reserve, so it can continue operating while the new and larger control building is constructed. And with deep excavations and trenching to take place along and across part of Riverbank Road too, a mixture of stop/go and lane closures ensure road users and construction staff will remain as safe as possible.
We investigated the possibility of making a temporary lane around the worksite and on the eastern side of Riverbank Road, but this is not possible due to existing services underground, a manhole, uneven terrain, and a very narrow corridor to drive through.
Camp Hill Bridge closure coming soon
As part of work in Zone 2A from Camp Hill Road and along to SH6/Lake Hāwea-Albert Town Road, we will need to use stop/go and a temporary closure of Camp Hill Bridge while crews install sections of the new wastewater pipeline in the area.
Stop/go near the bridge is expected to be in place from Monday 16 March to Monday 23 March.
The temporary closure of Camp Hill Bridge will take place from Tuesday 24 March to Thursday 2 April, between the hours of 8.30am and 6.00pm. This means the final school bus in the morning will still be able to use the bridge, but any traffic (including afternoon school buses) will need to use Kane Road, Cemetery Road, Domain Road, Capell Avenue, and SH6. Alternatively, road users will be able to use Luggate Red Bridge, SH8A,
and SH6.
The carpark by the bridge and next to Hāwea Wave will remain open and accessible during this time.
Camp Hill Bridge will be open to traffic in time for Easter Weekend.
After Easter, crews will continue installing pipes in the area but this work is only expected to require some minor sections of stop/go.
What we're working on in other zones
So far, crews have installed more than 4,700 metres of pipe to date, around 23% of the total length of future wastewater pipeline that will connect Hāwea and the upgraded pump station at Riverbank Road to Project Pure.
In Zone 1 on Domain Road in Hāwea, construction of the new wastewater pump station continues, and in April we’ll begin installing wastewater pipes from the pump station site and south towards Camp Hill Road. More on that to come closer to the time.
Ever wondered how a pump station actually works? Great news then – you’ll find a short summary on this magnificent machinery below.
Pipe continues to be installed in Zone 2B along SH6/Lake Hāwea-Albert Town Road from Camp Hill Road through to the northern side of Albert Town Bridge. Crews are currently working in some tight sections of the road corridor near the Gun Club. At times, short sections of stop/go should be expected in the area between 8.00am and 6.00pm.
In Zone 6A along SH6 between Cardrona River and Paddons Paddock, we’re expecting to complete some pipe work at night and under stop/go at a date to be confirmed, but likely in late February and early March. We’ll also need to close Halliday Road
Emergency storage tanks being installed at the new wastewater pump station on Domain Road in Hāwea. Photo credit: Fulton Hogan.
overnight to trench across it. Affected residents will be notified well ahead of the closure.
We’re making great progress within Zone 6B along SH6 between Paddons Paddock and Stevenson Road. SH6 users may encounter some stop/go over the coming weeks while we work within tight parts of the road corridor, but this will only be a last resort to reduce as much disruption as possible.
We’ve completed all work within Zone 7 out on Stevenson Road near Project Pure.
Wastewater pump station basics
Wastewater pump stations are a critical part of collecting wastewater throughout the network and sending it on to one of our wastewater treatment plants to be processed.
Many pipes within a network are gravity fed, which means wastewater flows down them using gravity. But when connections to the network are located below a wastewater treatment plant, wastewater cannot be transferred up from those lower areas without using a pump station.
Key parts of a wastewater pump station include:
Wet well
This is a large underground tank that wastewater flows into. The tank comes with special equipment that measures the volume of wastewater in there and once it reaches a certain level, a pump is activated and pressurises the wastewater, sending it up out of the wet-well and on towards the treatment plant.
Pumps (of course!)
Pumps within a wastewater pump station are submersible and are designed to handle raw wastewater. They often include grinders to help break down solids and protect the machinery from becoming blocked.
Grinder pumps can’t break everything down though, which is why it’s extremely important to only flush the 3Ps down the loo – that’s pee, paper, and poo.
Emergency storage tanks
Some wastewater pump stations, including the one we’re upgrading at Riverbank Road and the new pump station being built near Hāwea, have emergency storage tanks installed underground that provide temporary storage for wastewater in the event there’s an issue at the pump station and it stops working.
Attending Albert Town Community Association’s meeting
Our Project team is heading along speak to the Albert Town Community Association on Tuesday 24 February.
We’ll be sharing more information about the future closure required for Albert Town Bridge at this meeting, which we currently expect to take place around July this year.
We’ll be sharing more details about when and how work to install the wastewater pipeline will affect use of the bridge and/or Albert Town residents living along SH6 in our next newsletter and well in advance of any work starting in and around town.
Got a question, or want to raise an issue?
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about this project or specific zones of work, please contact us on 03 443 0024 or email services@qldc.govt.nz.
