Hobson Bay Sewer - NZ PDF Print E-mail
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The 90-year-old sewer, which cuts across Hobson bay, will be demolished as part of the $118.6 million project let by Watercare Services. Joint-venture contractors Fletcher Construction and McConnell Dowell hope to finish in 2010.

The old sewer has reached the end of its economic life and has long been an eyesore for the hundreds of homes and public viewing points which overlook the bay.

Its demise will also open up one of the biggest bays of the Waitemata Harbour to greater use by small craft and, possibly, a ferry service.

Watercare decided on a tunnel after public feedback on three alternatives: encasing the old sewer in a new concrete jacket, replacing it with a shallow buried sewer, or a tunnel.

Encasement was the cheapest option in a 2002 estimate of $26.5 million versus $47 million for a tunnel. But Watercare says the scale and the scope of the project has changed.

In late 2005, as a result of Auckland City Council, Metrowater and Watercare joint planning, the decision was taken to increase the diameter of the tunnel and make other changes. This added a further $15 million and added to the cost were demolition of the old main and the price escalations that have hit most big Auckland works projects.

Watercare chief executive Mark Ford said awarding the contract was a significant milestone. Replacing the sewer main with a larger capacity tunnel for carrying and storing wastewater would meet projected growth in the area, helping the marine environment by practically eliminating wastewater overflows into Hobson Bay.

The main carries a quarter of Auckland's wastewater to the Mangere Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The 3.7m-diameter concrete-lined tunnel, passing about 30m under the bay's mud and rock, would also open up the bay for recreational purposes and improve views of the area
 
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