With a strong ecological focus, the Te Āti Awa Stream Pump Station supports a safer environment and community alike

Te Āti Awa Stream Pump Station

Naturally occurring catchment alterations had reduced the stormwater drainage capacity of Te Āti Awa Stream, which increased the surrounding area’s flood risk. To protect their community, the Kāpiti Coast District Council engaged our team to develop the initial design of a pump station and provide a range of environmental services to support ecological outcomes.

We focused on restoring the environment through ecological services supporting fauna and covering vegetation mapping and wetland delineation. While facilitating safe fish passage was key, we couldn’t implement standard solutions due to the higher downstream water level. We resolved this by incorporating a fish-friendly Archimedes screw pump into the station design and substantially reduce the potential for fish injury or death. A point of pride for our team, this pump will be the second of its kind installed in New Zealand.

At Te Āti Awa Stream, protecting the environment goes hand in hand with innovation, and the pump station stands as a prime example. The project also benefitted from our stakeholder engagement efforts and extensive post-construction monitoring programme, which made obtaining resource consent possible.