Key Projects
Wastewater Centralisation
Manawatū District Council is delivering a multi-year investment programme to progressively centralise wastewater treatment across the district.
The programme connects our smaller community wastewater schemes to the Manawatū Wastewater Treatment Plant in Feilding, reducing our reliance on individual treatment systems across the district and allowing wastewater to be managed through one centralised treatment network.
It’s a significant programme of work being delivered in stages. Some communities are already connected, others are nearing completion, while planning and design is underway for the next connections.
Together, these projects represent a long-term investment in reliable, cost-effective and environmentally sustainable wastewater management for the Manawatū District.
Sanson and RNZAF Base Ōhakea
The Sanson and RNZAF Base Ōhakea connection marked a major milestone in Council's wastewater centralisation programme.
The project included 13.7 kilometres of pipeline and three pump stations to transfer wastewater from Sanson and RNZAF Base Ōhakea to the Manawatū Wastewater Treatment Plant in Feilding.
And it isn't all downhill.
From Sanson, the pipeline has to climb towards Mt Stewart, approximately 85 metres higher than Sanson itself. The pump stations provide the pressure needed to move wastewater to the top of the climb before gravity takes over for the final six kilometres of the journey to Feilding.
In February 2024, the Sanson pump stations were officially opened, completing this stage of the centralisation programme.
Three 70m³ underground tanks provide emergency storage for the system. Each tank is 2 metres in diameter and 22.7 metres long, while the pump stations together can transfer wastewater at 38 litres per second.
Project Milestones:
Rongotea
Work to connect Rongotea to the centralised wastewater network is nearing completion, with around 14 kilometres of pipeline connecting the village into the wider network.
While the terrain is flatter than the Sanson and RNZAF Base Ōhakea route, the project still involves some significant infrastructure. The main pump station is deeper than the one built at Sanson and includes an underground screening station sitting three metres below ground along with three 28-metre-long underground chambers providing emergency wastewater storage.
The project also includes an intermediate pump station with four pumps, two above ground and two below.
The storage system is the same size and design used for Sanson in 2024, building on what we've learned from earlier stages of the centralisation programme and creating a more consistent approach across the network.
Halcombe
With Sanson and RNZAF Base Ōhakea connected and Rongotea nearing completion, work is now progressing in Halcombe.
Construction of the remaining pipeline between Halcombe and Mount Stewart will begin October 2026, while design work is underway for the pump stations needed to move wastewater through the network to the Manawatū Wastewater Treatment Plant in Feilding.
The design will determine the number and location of pump stations required, drawing on what we've learned from delivering the Sanson and Rongotea connections.
Project Milestones: