This project upgrades the pumps in up to five pump stations (four in Lower Waikato and one in Hauraki) which are critical to the ongoing flood protection of productive farmland to enable safe passage of native fish, particularly tuna (eels).
The current infrastructure is due for replacement and the old flood pumps do not enable safe downstream passage of native fish. Tuna live in streams and drains for many decades but breed once in their lifetime at sea. Non-fish friendly pumps have significant implications for the species and their mortality rate can be very high during migration.
The issue of fish passage is a complex legacy issue. Many of the assets were installed 50-60 years ago by central government when little consideration was given to native species. Pumps are expensive so remediating the issue is a costly exercise for ratepayers.
We’ll be installing enclosed Archimedes screw pumps which offer many benefits over conventional pumping assets. They rotate very slowly, deliver very high efficiency, and their design means the screw does not inflict damage on fish, even significantly large tuna.
- Total project cost: $7m
- Project duration: 3.5 years
- Jobs expected over project life: 29.75
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