We all dream of escaping to a tropical island and living in bliss on a palm-fringed beach watching the sunset. For many Aucklanders that dream is a reality as they live a short ferry-ride away from Auckland’s CBD on beautiful Waiheke Island. The trip to and from the city across the sparkling Waitemata harbour and the unique lifestyle make Waiheke a very desirable place to live. However, there are always compromises, even in paradise.
There are challenges in construction and maintenance of properties on an island that the mainland doesn’t experience. While the vineyards and the olive groves are delightful, the lack of water resources on the island can be troublesome to residents.
- There is no reticulated water system – Waiheke properties are not connected to municipal wastewater meaning everyone has their own tanks and relies on their own water supplies. this works well when rainfall is at normal consistent levels, but in times of drought such as last summer, it has been expensive to top up the tanks (and the waiting lists for the truck has been up to five weeks).
- Waiheke has minimal stormwater management – when a storm hits the island, which is not uncommon, the drains and roads overflow and can cause damage if properties are not prepared.
Many land developments have overcome these issues through clever engineering. Residents are keen to improve their properties to ensure the current drought won’t cause problems in the future. Our Senior Engineer, Chris Shortt and his team are experts in all sorts of water problems; too little water or too much water – there are always solutions.
Chris Shortt has been involved in a number of such developments and can help with advice and strategies to alleviate water resources at your property. Chris said “We have worked on properties where there is very little space for landscaping and that means there’s not much space for waste water disposal either. Waiheke businesses, such as cafes, can be extremely busy at peak weekend times and then quiet at other times. We design systems to overcome these issues by using clever engineering techniques such as buffering of flows to control discharge and the latest technological advances.
To find out more about stormwater and wastewater issues and to contact our engineers click here.
Highlights:
- Recycling water
- Wastewater treatment solutions
- Water re-use
