Walter Peak Estate is a new resort development situated on 38.16 hectares of freehold land on the north facing shores of Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown.
After four years of consultation and planning, the construction of two development areas has now begun in earnest. A lodge comprising six guest suites, eight cottages and a separate manager's residence are being completed in the Mick O'Day Creek Basin while a further eight homesteads are being built along the lakefront terrace face.
Walter Peak Estate’s location necessitated an advanced wastewater treatment system that would not detract from the pristine surroundings of the resort or negatively impact on the environment.
Strict resource consent conditions due to the resort’s proximity to Lake Wakatipu and the limited area available for effluent disposal necessitated a very high level of effluent treatment.
“The developer needed to optimise the useable land by incorporating the treated effluent discharge into a specially designated native planting area.” said Simon Brackstone, Project Manager from Citation Property Group. “The quality of the treated effluent suitable for irrigation purposes combined with the proximity to sensitive water ways, made the Hynds MBR System the ideal option for the site”
Hynds Environmental was appointed by Citation Property Group to develop an effective system to meet the resort’s stringent requirements and a wastewater treatment plant was designed to treat and disperse the 24,000 liters per day of sewage expected from the Walter Peak Resort.
Hynds Environmental used a combination of precast components and on-site construction for the Hynds MBR System. The total volume of the MBR system is 66 m3 which includes 24 hour emergency wastewater storage. The MBR treatment units are very compact and are contained in a precast tank covering only 5.5 m2.
Otago Regional Council and local council normally requires effluent to be discharged at least 50m away from any water source to prevent contamination of the waterway. The Hynds MBR System’s superior effluent quality resulted in approval for disposal within 20m of Lake Wakatipu.
Membrane bioreactor technology is utilised to achieve a tertiary level effluent quality, typically better than 5:5:5 mg/l BOD5 : Suspended Solids : Ammonia. The wastewater is treated at an ultra filtration level, rendering it free from all pathogens, viruses and bacteria. Faecal Coliform levels are typically < 5 / 100ml so no further disinfection is required before the crystal clear effluent is discharged through 4,700m pressure compensating dripline irrigation.
A fully automated Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) electronic alarm system controls the operation of the wastewater plant at Walter Peak Resort and a telemetry system allows remote monitoring and management of the wastewater plant via mobile phones or the Internet. This system monitors the daily flow of the system along with the water levels in the tanks, the status of the pumps and blowers. Hynds Environmental is automatically contacted via a text message if the PLC controller detects any fault or alarm in the operation of the treatment plant.