Wastewater is the biggest waste by volume in New Zealand. Approximately 1.5 billion litres of domestic wastewater is discharged into the environment daily.
Sewage treatment practices have changed significantly in recent years. Changes include the reuse of sewage sludge and effluent on land, and the emergence of new technologies for the treatment of sewage.
The Ministry for the Environment partners with Water New Zealand to develop initiatives which improve the country's environmental performance in the area of wastewater.
A number of joint initiatives exist to manage wastewater, including:
The guidelines are written for use by pond operators and designers, planners, regulators and other interested persons.
The draft guidelines are available from the New Zealand Water and Wastes Association's bookshop or you can download an electronic copy of the Oxidation pond guidelines.
For more information about any of the above initiatives, please email firstname.lastname@example.org.
Other relevant initiatives and publications developed by the Ministry for the Environment include:
Last updated: 29 August 2014