Upgrades to stormwater systems in Turangi and Taupō get underway
The stormwater systems in Turangi and Two Mile Bay will be upgraded to improve the quality of stormwater reaching the lake.
Stormwater separators, or ‘Downstream Defenders’ as they are known by producer Hynds, use centrifugal force to remove pollutants from stormwater. A Downstream Defender is being installed in Turanga Place in Turangi, following a previous Defender installed in the Kohineheke Reserve in Turangi. The new Defender scheduled for Taupo will be installed beneath the Two Mile Bay boat ramp car park and follows similar devices already operating at Hawai Reserve and along Lake Terrace.
Asset manager for stormwater Brent Aitken said the two installations are part of an ongoing effort to improve the quality of the district’s stormwater network.
“The Downstream Defenders have nothing projecting above ground so are not taking up space and are virtually invisible to the community, but they do a great job of removing the pollutants that are carried into our system by rainwater,” he said.
“Every four months we empty around 1.5 tonnes of pollutants from each Defender, so that is a considerable amount of material we are stopping from reaching our lake. We have focussed on installing the Defenders in the larger catchments as these have the highest levels of pollutants, including oils and sediment, cigarette butts, plastic waste, cans and other pollutants. The Defenders catch all of this, so they can make a very measurable improvement to water quality.”
The Turangi installation is scheduled to be completed later this month and the Two Mile Bay works will be completed by early March weather permitting.