Lorraine Kendrick, centre with staff, laughs as she listens to tributes paid to her at the Cambridge Wastewater Treatment Plant opening.
Waipā’s biggest infrastructure project has been handed over with a simple but heartfelt request.
“Please take great care of the baby.”
Harry Wilson, Waikato-Tainui, Waters manager Karl Pavlovich, Taiporutu Hauraki of Ngāti Haua Mahi Trust, artist Eugene Kara, Tipene Wilson and Poto Davies of the Kaitiaki Group, project manager Marie McIntyre, Norm Hill of the Kaitiaki Group, strategic lead Robin Walker, and mayor Mike Pettit. Photo: Supplied
Chief executive Steph O’Sullivan’s words drew smiles from the crowd gathered at the new Cambridge Wastewater Treatment Plant this week as the $108.5 million plus facility opened and was then promptly passed from council ownership to Waikato Waters.
Cambridge News 2 July 2026
There was pride too. This was a project years in the making, delivered on time, and built not just with concrete and steel but with relationships, patience and shared purpose.
Mayor Mike Pettit called it a foundation for a “healthy, growing and successful district”, designed to give Cambridge, Leamington, Hautapu and Karāpiro the capacity and confidence to grow while protecting the Waikato River.
But O’Sullivan’s speech revealed a deeper story.
She went off script to recall the early days of the project in 2009 when she and iwi representatives were first talking through the idea.
Back then, she was working in an environmental role alongside Ngāti Korokī Kahukura representatives including Poto Davies. The technology they were considering did not stack up.
Last minute check: Waipā mayor Mike Pettit runs through his speech before delivery while the visitors wait to be called into the ceremony. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
“If we’d gone ahead with what we were thinking then, it wouldn’t be compliant today,” she said.
Taking time, pausing and waiting for the right solution proved critical.
For O’Sullivan, the project has always been as much personal as professional. Her earlier work with the Waikato River Authority and through Treaty settlement discussions shaped her view of the river not as policy but as a living relationship. The partnership with mana whenua, including Ngāti Hauā and Ngāti Korokī Kahukura, has been central from the outset.
Waipā District Council elected members, staff and iwi welcome guests to the opening of the Cambridge Wastewater Treatment Plant. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Pettit said their input helped shape the project at every stage, ensuring cultural knowledge sat alongside technical expertise.
“Technical knowledge matters deeply,” said O’Sullivan. “But the knowledge that comes from generations of living with the environment matters just as much.”
The project is one of the first in the region where mātauranga Māori and engineering have been woven together in the design and delivery.
Steph O’Sullivan
Behind the scenes, a long list of people carried the work through.
Among them was Lorraine Kendrick of Beca, whose connection with O’Sullivan stretches back years. O’Sullivan singled her out.
Kendrick’s involvement dates back to the original project team and continued through to oversight as the plant took shape, ensuring consistency through design changes, consenting and construction.
Project manager Marie McIntyre was also recognised, her role described by O’Sullivan as career defining.
Across years of planning, consenting and delivery, McIntyre helped carry the responsibility of getting the project to completion in what was a complex and highly scrutinised environment.
While it was easy to see the finished product as a series of tanks and pipes on the edge of town, O’Sullivan reminded the crowd the real story lay elsewhere.
“It’s the site meetings, the late reviews, the conversations, the trust, the challenge,” she said. “That’s what got us here.”
Now, as Waikato Waters takes over, the plant moves into its next phase. It will operate largely unseen, quietly doing its job.
The consent for the new plant was formally enacted yesterday (June 30) – the final major milestone before operation transfers to Waikato Waters.
The new plant uses membrane bioreactor technology, treating wastewater to a standard among the best in New Zealand. Compared with the old pond-based system, it reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 90 per cent, and runs on solar power generated on site.
The final stages of the project, which is due to wrap up in December, include removing old equipment and continuing wetland restoration on the site. Nearly 40,000 native plants have been put in the ground over the past two years, with more planting to come over the next decade.
Waipā District Council elected members, staff and iwi welcome guests to the opening of the Cambridge Wastewater Treatment Plant. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Lorraine Kendrick, centre with staff, laughs as she listens to tributes paid to her at the Cambridge Wastewater Treatment Plant opening. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
