Historically, all sewage has discharged to the Whanganui River. From 1979-1984 the
Council completed works that included a 2km outfall, under-river crossing, a large
interceptor that collects wastewater from the Castlecliff and Balgownie areas and a
large pump station at Beach Road. The interceptor extends from a Pump Station
located on the riverbank in Tregenna St to the Beach Rd Pump Station and the
majority of the industrial wastes flow through this sewer. At the Beach Rd Pump
Station the wastewater is screened and pumped via the under-river crossing to the
outfall discharging off South Beach into the sea.
The outfall is no longer pumped directly out to sea but is now pumped uphill ( yes, only in Wanganui would they try to push s*#t uphill), to two large settling ponds. These are the source of the "Ponganui" nickname our town acquired recently. Once treated in these ponds it is then pumped to the existing outfall approx 2 km off South Beach