Wellington Water is increasing its water resilience by constructing a new 35 million litre reservoir in the Prince of Wales Park, in the Town Belt. Providing bulk water storage for Wellington’s CBD area and assisting with disaster recovery.
The project partnered with Iwi, local residents and business owners to achieve enhanced outcomes. Designed to minimise its environmental impact, the tank was buried to minimise any visual impact the new structure might add. Placing the tank underneath the top of the hill also meant there would be no additional stormwater runoff, and the site tried to use permeable surfaces as much as possible.
Steep accessways are a feature of this site, but they also need to be pervious to reduce stormwater runoff. The steep grades (at least 10%) meant traditional permeable solutions would not cope with the load requirements of heavy maintenance. An engineered solution was required.
Stormwater360’s Grasscrete™ was used as it is a permeable surface that can be fully trafficable by service vehicles. The formers are cut to suit the slab shape on site, and concrete is poured in situ with a reinforcing mesh. This methodology avoids issues with differential settling and has a similar load bearing to traditional concrete slabs, while the grass pockets absorb stormwater.
