“Te Mārua Water Treatment Plant Optimisation Project” is a finalist for the 2025 Āpōpō Asset Management Excellence Awards.

Te Mārua Water Treatment Plant Optimisation – a timely response to a changing environment.

All involved: Fulton Hogan, Wellington Water Ltd

A changing climate – lower summer rainfall in particular – is increasing pressure on Wellington Water to avoid peak summer water rationing. Increasing the capacity of the Te Mārua Water Treatment Plant – the source of around 40 percent of Wellington’s treated water – is key to this increased resilience. The means is a 3 train DAF dissolved air flotation system, giving an additional 60 million litres per day.

When Wellington Water engaged Fulton Hogan, one of the first recommendations was to incrementalise the project to focus on a single train, thus reducing system-wide risks and ensuring 20 million additional litres per day for summer 2024/2025. The other two trains will be completed shortly.

The stretch target was 31 October 2024. The commissioning occurred 30 October – an exemplar of leadership in an accelerated construction process on mission-critical, live assets, run both safely and efficiently under considerable time constraints.