To help prevent contaminants from entering our lakes and rivers we have installed stormwater separator devices, known as ‘downstream defenders’, across the district. Once they are installed in the ground they are nearly invisible. They just keep on quietly and consistently filtering out the stormwater on its way to our lake and rivers.
The devices are designed to catch all the little stuff that gets flushed into the stormwater system by rain, and while these are smaller pollutants, they are also quite nasty ones: things like cigarette butts and plastic, oils and sediments which contain heavy metals, but also brake dust and rubber tyre particles from vehicles. The defenders are emptied every four months, with around a tonne of pollutants recovered from each, which adds up to around 30 tonnes of really nasty stuff that we stop from getting into the lake and our rivers each year.
There are many different types of stormwater treatment devices and each new site is assessed individually to determine what is the most appropriate device for each location.
As at August 2024, thirteen downstream defenders/Stormwater Treatment devices have been installed around the Taupō District:
Taupō
- Hawai Street
- Lake Terrace, near the Hole in One
- Nukuhau boat ramp
- Redoubt Road
- Ruapehu Street
- Sorrento Way
- Story Place
- Taharepa Road
- Tongariro Street
- Two Mile Bay boat ramp
- Waikato Street, downstream from the Control Gates
Tūrangi
- Kohineheke Reserve outlet
- Turanga Place outlet
Plans are in place for more treatment devices to be installed in Taupō, Mangakino and Tūrangi prioritising those locations where we have the largest discharges.
