Tauranga City Council proposes to decommission Pond 1 of the Te Maunga wastewater treatment plant (TMWWTP). Pond 1 is an oxidation pond and was constructed in 1975. Pond 1 received waste activated sludge (WAS) from the treatment plant until March 2019 when a Thickening & Dewatering plant became operational.

Current consents require TCC to decommission the Pond and therefore a final desludge of Pond 1 is proposed.

In addition to the sludge being contaminated with asbestos there is also an effluent diversion wall which was constructed within the western side of the pond during 1975. The diversion wall is around 110 m long and constructed with asbestos-containing material (ACM). This wall is in a poor state of repair, and some sections of the sheeting have come off the fence and sunk to the bottom of the pond.

Luke has been engaged to provide specialist asbestos advise and clearance services for this project.