Napier City Council has imported 21 powerful power generators as part of its resilience strategy for future extreme weather events.
A spokeswoman for the council said a range of different sized generators had been ordered from a leading French manufacturer Kholer, after the flooding of 2020, and had now arrived in Hawke’s Bay.
They generators cost $1.5 million and will play a vital role in the resilience of the city’s three waters services, said executive director of Infrastructure, Russell Bond in a press release on 19 May.
“We can never just build back, we have to make sure we are adding strength, back-up, and innovation at every point so we can be better in all areas,” says Bond. “By adding these generators to our inventory we can bolster our pump stations and have flexibility when we need it.”
Acting manager, water strategy Philip Kelsen said the council had invested in a variety of different generator sizes ranging from 770kVA (kilovolt -ampere) to 16kVA to cater to different power needs.
“The bigger generators, ranging from 770kVA to 350kVA, will be put to work at various stormwater pump stations like Purimu, Dalton Street, and Sale.
“On the other hand, the smaller generators, ranging from 200kVA down to 16kVA, will be used at our smaller wastewater pump stations. These generators have a crucial role to play in ensuring uninterrupted wastewater pumping, especially during power outages.
“By having these backup generators in place, we can significantly reduce the risk of overflows occurring during those times. Our goal is to keep things running smoothly at the pump stations, even when the power goes out, and to minimise any potential inconveniences caused by such situations,” Kelsen said.
Because the city’s waste water treatment plant standby generator was rendered inoperable during the cyclone, the council had decided to install one of the biggest generators there, which would safeguard the treatment plant’s functionality and minimise the risk of any environmental or operational issues that could arise from power outages.
“We are currently working on several significant projects aimed at equipping our stormwater stations with generators. These projects involve extensive groundwork, including thorough testing of the soil to ensure its ability to withstand the weight of the heavy generators, as well as guaranteeing stability during earthquakes. Another crucial factor we consider is the fuel consumption of these generators, particularly the amount of diesel they use,” he said.
The Dalton, Sale, Georges Drive, and Purimu stormwater pump stations had been identified as key areas requiring enhanced resilience to effectively manage stormwater during heavy rainfall.
Kelsen said pre-testing was underway, which would be followed up by acceptance tests and if the generators passed they would officially be put to work.
“Deploying the accepted generators will mark an important milestone in our project. They will be integrated into our stormwater stations, ready to fulfil their intended purpose of keeping Napier dry during rain events.”
Larger generators would be installed at key sites, while the smaller ones would be stored in a depot to be rolled out when needed. Council staff would be offered comprehensive training to operate, monitor and troubleshoot the generators, Kelsen said.
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Oh no, these should be something central gov’t invests in, they can then go where needed and oh the maintenance on them just sitting in a shed is going to be an issue. How do councils get so dumb?