A significant step in a long-term plan to end Clyde’s dependence on septic tanks for wastewater processing and disposal has been celebrated.

The district mayor, Tim Cadogan, even dressed up as Super Turd to mark the significant milestone in the project set for completion in 2043.

Click here to see the mayor’s ‘News Flush’.

When the occupants of the 182 Clyde properties included in stage one flush their toilets, the contents will now travel down 10.5kms of the newly laid main pipeline to the Alexandra Waste treatment plant. 

Almost 4km of the main pipe was also laid through Clyde in addition to 1.8 km of pipework required to connect properties to the scheme. 

Eighty chambers were commissioned for maintenance, and three pump stations will transport wastewater to the Alexandra treatment plant.

“The project provides the Clyde community with an environmentally safe wastewater system that will bring significant environmental, health and well-being benefits for decades to come and will allow for future growth in a managed and sustainable manner,” Central Otago District Council (CODC) said in a statement.

182 Clyde homeowners are now part of stage one of the project 

The council now requires properties newly connected to the Alexandra wastewater plant to decommission their septic tank systems.

CODC has appointed a contractor to empty, disinfect and puncture septic tanks no longer required, with formal decommissioning expected to commence later this month (January 2023). 

Clyde homeowners will be contacted directly by the contractors appointed to complete the work.

When septic tanks have been emptied and punctured, they must be removed or backfilled with gravel. 

The total cost of stage one is $23M, and the total expenditure for all three stages is expected to be just under $49M, including GST and inflation.

Stage two is scheduled for 2028-33, with stage three for 2038-43.