Published 3/02/2022
Wellington Water accepts all recommendations from independent review of wastewater treatment operations
Wellington Water, as per the review timeline, has received the findings of the independent review into the operating model with Veolia - who is responsible for running all the wastewater treatment plants in the metropolitan Wellington region.
Wellington Water CEO, Colin Crampton, says that Wellington Water has accepted all 5 recommendations of the review. In addition, Wellington Water will continue its contract with Veolia on the condition that Veolia commits to and delivers on several significant improvements in its planning, delivery and resourcing.
“The review has highlighted that the management and operation of the wastewater treatment plants, and the ability to effectively to deliver public health and environmental objectives, has not been consistently achieved by Veolia,” says Mr Crampton.
“While Veolia is responsible for not meeting our expectations in their delivery of operations and maintenance of the four wastewater treatment plants, the contractual relationship, between Wellington Water and Veolia, has also played a role in their performance.
“The report also highlighted areas of improvement for us in the way we manage the contract and we will work to enhance our capability, systems and processes to allow better management of Veolia.”
“We remain committed to our role as a steward of water. This means we take care of water, our communities, and the environment. We take this responsibility seriously and will continue to strive for high standards of ourselves and our operator to meet the expectations of our communities, councils, and mana whenua.”
A steering group made up of representatives from Mana Whenua, Councils, Wellington Water and Veolia, has been established to oversee the implementation of the recommendations.
“We will keep our councils, community, and mana whenua informed as this work progresses,” says Mr Crampton.
The full independent review report and recommendations can be found on Wellington Water’s website.
Previous news items on the independent review of wastewater treatment operations: