A milestone has been reached in the centralisation of wastewater from Manawatū villages to the Manawatū Wastewater Treatment Plant in Feilding. The main pump station in Sanson was officially opened on Monday 19 February, with Mayor Helen Worboys hitting go on operation. The milestone also marks completion of the entire Sanson wastewater centralisation stage.

With 13.7 kilometres of pipeline, and an uphill climb over Mt Stewart which sits approximately 85m higher than Sanson itself, the completion of this stage is a significant achievement.

It marks a milestone in the multi-year commitment by Council and the community to improve environmental outcomes for over 100km of waterways across the Manawatū district through the complete removal of local discharges from several small rural wastewater treatment plants. The project also leverages off the significant investment already made into the Manawatū Wastewater Treatment Plant in Feilding, which includes irrigation of treated wastewater to land and a surface flow native plant wetland.

“When we have a treatment facility in Feilding that is minimising the environmental impact of Feilding’s wastewater, it just makes sense to connect the rest of the district where the investment stacks up,” Hamish Waugh, Manawatū District Council Infrastructure Manager explains.

“Robust infrastructure forms the backbone of the Manawatū district. This is an exciting milestone on a long-term journey to enable wastewater to be treated to a higher quality than could be done in smaller treatment facilities,” says Mayor Helen Worboys.

Council has also collaborated with the New Zealand Defence Force to receive all of the wastewater from RNZAF Base Ōhakea into Sanson which will also be pumped to Feilding for treatment and disposal.

The project will continue to connect wastewater from Rongotea, Halcombe and Awahuri into the Manawatū Wastewater Treatment Plant in Feilding. Pipework installation for the Rongotea stage is already substantially complete with commissioning of the Rongotea leg of wastewater centralisation project during 2026.

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