Hautapu Wastewater Treatment plant
Fonterra’s Hautapu site says its new $85 million wastewater treatment plant is already improving environmental performance, while also strengthening links with the local community.
Speaking at the site’s annual community night, environmental manager Jude van Bommel said the Wai Mahea plant, now in its final stages of commissioning, was already delivering better water quality outcomes.
Matt Roberts
The plant uses biological treatment to process wastewater before it is discharged to land or, when conditions require, to the Waikato River.
“We’re introducing bacteria and biology to build the capacity of what gets discharged,” van Bommel said.
From July 1, tighter resource consent limits for wastewater quality come into force, but she said the site was already meeting those standards most of the time during the current season.
Early results show reductions in key nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus, as well as more consistent pH levels compared to previous untreated wastewater systems.
The aim is to reduce variability and long-term effects on land and water.
The new system also allows treated wastewater to be applied more consistently to farms or diverted to the river during wet weather when irrigation is not possible.
Monitoring of surrounding groundwater, including neighbour bores, will continue as part of consent requirements. About 79 bores are sampled regularly to track water quality.
Van Bommel said results to date showed groundwater quality remained stable, with no expansion of affected areas, and improvements were expected over time as the new plant beds in.
That could take several years but things were heading in the right direction, she said.
Environmental incidents have also reduced over the past year, with reportable incidents dropping from six to three and fewer complaints about odour and noise.
Most issues were minor, including a historic pipeline failure and a discharge at the wrong location that remained compliant in terms of quality.
“We’ve worked through those and made improvements,” van Bommel said.
Jude van Bommel
Odour has been a particular focus given community concerns when the plant was proposed. Regular monitoring is now carried out, with most readings returning low or negligible results.
Noise is also being managed through upgrades to cooling towers, with further improvements planned.
The environmental investment sits alongside broader changes across the site.
Acting site manager Matt Roberts said Hautapu, one of Fonterra’s oldest sites at 140 years, continued to evolve while remaining rooted in the local community.
“We’ve been part of this district for a very long time and that connection is important,” he said.
The site processes up to 3.2 million litres of milk a day and exports products to more than 100 markets.
Strong global demand for protein products had extended processing later into the season than usual, reflecting changing food trends, he said.
At the same time, the site is transitioning away from coal to biomass boilers using wood pellets as part of Fonterra’s push to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“That’s part of the commitment we’ve made around emissions,” he said, while acknowledging the shift comes with added cost.
The site is also preparing for future transport changes, including installing charging infrastructure for potential electric milk tankers.
Roberts said the technology needed to be viable before widespread adoption.
“We’re aiming for the right point where it works for us,” he said.
Fonterra’s national manager of environmental operations Dale Arbury said the wastewater project had also been an opportunity to strengthen relationships beyond the site boundary.
“We didn’t want to just centre it on the wastewater treatment facility,” he said.
Dale Arbury
“We used the construction as a way to build our relationship.”
Arbury said the approach required a shift in how the company engaged with others.
“In Fonterra we’re good at talking to people, sometimes we’re not always that good at listening,” he said.
That had led to a stronger focus on communication and transparency, including sharing information about incidents and working through issues openly.
For neighbours, the outcomes are practical. Reduced discharges, fewer odour issues and clearer communication are the results they experience.
Van Bommel said the intent was to keep improving.
“We can’t fix what we don’t know about,” she said.
“And we want people to tell us if there’s an issue.”
Fonterra participants at the annual Hautapu plant community meeting last week were, from left Dale Arbury, Janelle Jenson, Jude van Bommel, Matt Roberts and Nathan Metzger. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
