Eight months into the 18-month long northwest Blenheim sewer upgrade, work is progressing well, thanks to great support from the community.

Contractors Schick Civil Construction have finished work in Fulton Street, where a 255m new gravity main has been installed through to Colemans Road. Council Projects Engineer Mark Power said the residents of Fulton Street had been “amazing” through the process and deserved a big thank you.

“The contractors had to contend with groundwater throughout the work on this section which caused delays so we really appreciated the residents’ patience,” he said.

Just down the road, work is well underway on the second largest of the new pump stations in McLauchlan Street. The first stage of this involved sheet piling around the excavated area to create a safe operating space before construction of the new pump station began.

“This is noisy work and we appreciate the understanding of residents nearby. It is critical this preliminary work is done to ensure our contractors can operate in a safe environment,” said Mark.

A glass reinforced plastic chamber has now been installed on a concrete pad in place of the old-style ‘wet well’ which dates back to 1963. The new pump station will be designed for a 100 year lifespan.

“Structurally the old pump station was fine but capacity-wise it was around half what it needed to be. When it was put in, most of the sections in the area were a quarter acre – now the disposal requirements are double and housing has expanded to the northwest hence the need for more capacity,” said Mark.

In Hutcheson Street, the Schick team are already working on a gravity pipeline which runs from Budge Street to Lansdowne Road. They will be on-site for three to four months for this part of the project to replace leaking pipes and future proof the system for further growth.

Council’s Assets & Services Manager Richard Coningham said the $13.7m project would provide for future residential growth of 700 homes.

“Marlborough has enjoyed steady growth over the past decade. While the Council has zoned extensive land areas, infrastructure upgrades like this one are required to meet demand and satisfy the growing need for housing,” he said. “This project will increase our sewer and pump station capacities, reduce the effects of inflow and infiltration on the sewer network, and also reduce the frequency of overflows,” said Richard.

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