Find out what happens when you Flush!

2 November 2007

Ever wondered what happened after you flush? This Sunday’s Open Day at the Christchurch Wastewater Treatment Plant is your chance to find out!

In Christchurch, sewage (which is almost all water) is carried through a network of underground pipes and pumps to the Christchurch Wastewater Treatment Plant, where it is processed.

Mike Bourke, the Council’s Operations and Maintenance Manager, says the Open Day is a great opportunity to see howone of the city’s most important pieces of infrastructure works.

“Our wastewater disappears down drains and plugholes and we give little thought to where it ends up. But actually seeing what goes on here can be fascinating. Each day 180 million litres of wastewater are treated at the works. What happens once it reaches the Treatment Plant will surprise a lot of people,” says Mike Bourke.

This Sunday there will be guided tours of the tunnels beneath the treatment plant. Visitors will be able to explore the screens, trickling filters, sedimentation tanks and biosolids processes.

There will also be scenic bus tours of the Te Huingi Manu wildlife refuge on the city council’s oxidation ponds to give the public a rare glimpse of the final part of the wastewater treatment chain.

As well as giving the public a chance to see their wastewater facility, the Open Day will raise money to support the Oxfam Water for Survival project in Ghana.

The Open Day is on Sunday 4 November 10am-3pm. Entry is $2 per person or $5 per family.

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