Media attention often focusses on repeated failures of reticulated wastewater networks in our larger cities.
However, it is well established that wastewater infrastructure in rural areas is often aged, failing, or not able to achieve desired environmental and public health outcomes.
Conventional wastewater treatment systems are relatively expensive to upgrade, or to construct and operate on a small scale.
Under its MBIE-funded Ecocultural Wastewater Treatment Research Programme, NIWA has been investigating culturally appropriate upgrades of wastewater treatment systems servicing small reticulated rural towns, unreticulated settlements and facilities such as papakāinga and marae.
Informed by Matāuranga Māori through co-design with Māori, these wastewater treatment systems focus on beneficial reuse of resources, including nutrients in the wastewater and recovery of methane produced during treatment.
Our researchers have been trialing intensified multi-layered wetland filters, high-rate filamentous algae ponds, final effluent wetlands, accumulating volume sludge digestion ponds and sludge treatment wetlands.
A co-development team guides the programme’s progress, working with marae, rural communities, industry and local government.
The aim of this programme and related research being undertaken at NIWA is to provide a range of resilient, highly effective and culturally acceptable wastewater treatment options.
These can provide smaller communities with affordable “natural” treatment choices that will enable them to upgrade and operate effective rural wastewater treatment infrastructure.
These options are being developed with the specific intention to future-proof them in terms of population growth and ability to cope with the impacts of climate change.
