Project Leonardo - Fonterra Pahiatua Wastewater Storage Ponds
Welded HDPE (2mm and 1.5mm), geotextile, PolyLock, gas venting, and geocomposite drainage
Fonterra’s Pahiatua site, the Mangamutu Dairy Factory, processed 1.4 million litres of milk each day from farms across Northern Hawkes Bay to Southern Wairarapa and Wellington. The two dryers converted milk into 55,000 tonnes of whole milk powder each year. That was before Project Leonardo.
Project Leonardo increases the site’s processing capability with the addition of a new milk dryer capable of processing a further 2.5 million litres per day.
Fonterra has a strong focus on sustainability and aims to minimise adverse impacts on the environment in all elements of its operation. Part of the expansion saw the establishment of an onsite wastewater storage, treatment plant and clean water irrigation system.
I.S. Dam Lining Ltd were contracted to line the two ponds. The rough subgrade presented some challenges requiring three layers of geotextile to be deployed to provide an adequate cushioning layer protecting the HDPE from rupture.
7,000m2 of 2mm HDPE was laid and seam welded to create the smaller of the two ponds, used to store the wastewater generated from the plant. Once cycled through the onsite treatment plant, the clean water is then stored in the larger holding pond lined with 34,000m2 of 1.5mm HDPE before being irrigated onto three local farm as weather permits.
We are up and running: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqQLW8__86M
