Merry Christmas & 2019 Staff Function

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Christmas is approaching and we hope you have a wonderful one!

If is often at this point in time when people can see the finish line, they lose sight of what still has to be done. Not here. I have phenomenal people who work for me!

I was lucky enough to meet most of the partners of my staff at our Christmas bash. What a great night. I think the ‘Giant WIFLE (What I Feel Like Expressing)’ was the highlight for me. I’d also like to acknowledge our two Employee of the Year Award Winners;  People’s choice was Marlon Quiban (right, with Said) and Director’s choice was Wiremu Clarke (left, with Ed).

Ten years on…

After what started as a flicker of a vision in 2009 with me, a van, one staff member and a dog, we have come a long way. There are so many things we are striving for at Dutton Stormwater, but at our core we want to employ the best people in the world to carry out the best stormwater service in the world. Everything else falls into place after that.

For me personally I would like to take this opportunity to say a few personal thank yous:

  1. To Ruth, our wonderful Councilor who listens to us with such care and empathy, you are a joy to have in our business – thank you.
  2. To Huia, our organized phenomenal marketing guru. You have transformed our marketing department and you are patient. Thank you.
  3. Roman – our charismatic photographer. You manage to get the best out of a tired looking bunch. Thank you mate.

On the 9th of May 2009 all I said to Kate was that it was now or never. What has happened since then has been quite life changing. I hope it has not defined me. I am my family’s first Dutton in New Zealand, and Dutton Stormwater allows me to express myself as the person I am. I am grateful to this business for that. There have been many little mishaps and tricky situations through which I have gained a sense of faith in the human spirit and strong sense of self-belief. I have learnt that no-one is coming to save me. It has been fun.

Thank you, merry Christmas.
Ed Dutton.

More photos of our fantastic team from our celebration

The Director’s Desk – September

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It appears the media is intent on spreading fear and pessimism throughout the business sector. Dutton Stormwater does not subscribe to opinions of the media. Our perception of business in New Zealand and what we are doing remains positive and strong. We defy the odds and have done since our inception. We as a company are not affected by media or other perceptions. We are focusing on our tasks. This is illustrated by the graph below which shows how our percentage of jobs completed being very close to 100% since April.

New additions to the team of fleet

August was a big month from a Human Resource perspective. We continue to embrace our value of diversity. This month we have taken on Conrad Donkin as our sales rep. Conrad has a vast amount of experience in the construction industry both in New Zealand and abroad. He brings a fantastic energy to our team.

Said has also turned up from the Netherlands. Said is slim and fit and joins the crew as a stormwater technician. Said is a man of few words, but his smile is infectious.

LittaTrap™ Success Story

In July we installed two LittaTrap™s on a site in Onehunga. I drove past a few days ago and asked the owner if I could have a look at them. We went over to the pits and pulled the bags out. They had caught a large amount of debris, silt and litter. We emptied them out into a skip on his site and organised a maintenance regime with him going forward. We were both so impressed with the efficiency of this application. The owner took some photos and was determined to show the other members of his board.

Challenge for the city – And a Free Offer

If you want to be proactive in protecting the ocean, call us to come and quote you for installing LittaTrap™s on your site. If you get LittaTrap™s installed in all your cess pits, we will supply and install the first one free!

 

The Directors’ Desk – August

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There are few things more satisfying for me than to see crystal clear water emerging from the outlet of a filtration device we maintain. Over the month of July our crew completed 100% of our planned maintenance jobs. This is a massive feat from everyone. The planning, servicing and invoicing was all completed before the end of the month – a standard we pride ourselves on. I would like to congratulate the team on their effort through the month of July.

Over the month of July, the Dutton Stormwater staff accumulated 13 compliments from customers, ranging from our office staff being “so on the ball” to our operations crew being “so polite and passionate about their work.” Thank you.

Welcome back Claire

During the month of July the phenomenal Claire Storey returned to us. Claire has been on maternity leave and has slotted back into work like she never left. Like any mother, she manages life and business with grace and poise.

Team challenges & team building

12 out of 14 of our staff members completed “dry-July”. Perhaps it was harder for some? Great effort team.

We had a fun morning of Spanbou at the Panic Rooms. Far too complicated for me to find my way out, but we all enjoyed ourselves.

Major project – Sand Filter

A major project in July was the refurbishment of a neglected sand filter in Onehunga. Our team of six removed over 48 tonnes of contaminated silt and disposed of it at an authorized waste facility. This was a monumental effort that spanned over three days. On behalf of all the families of fish in the ocean I want to thank the crew for doing this work.

Stormwater highlights

The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System/State Disposal System (NPDES/SDS) MS4 permit is designed to protect US rivers, lakes and streams from polluted stormwater runoff. SEH MS4 specialist April Ryan, water engineer, shared 25 key facts about stormwater, stormwater pollution, permitting and MS4.

Note Fact 25: Everyone can help battle stormwater pollution. “There a dozens of ways all of us can help reduce stormwater pollution. Don’t over-water your lawn. Wash your car in the grass, not in the driveway. Use fertilizers sparingly. There are many others.”

Challenge for the city – Clean UpFlo Filters

Please remember that we are running a special on up-flo filter commissioning. If you sign a contract with us to maintain your site with an up-flo filter on it, we will commission your up-flo filter for free.

Want to know more about UpFlo Filters? Here are two videos that you may like to watch:

Click here to see how the Up-Flo® Filter Stormwater Treatment System removes fine sediments and other pollutants from stormwater runoff, and how simple media bag replacement is compared to other stormwater treatment filters.

Click here to see the Hynds UpFlo Filter specs. Designed to meet current stormwater regulations, and remove 90% total suspended solids (TSS) with a mean particle size of 20 microns, the Up-Flo® Filter combines a patented upwards flow path with a unique drain-down system to achieve proven removal efficiency of fine sediment, nutrients, metals, oils, organics, and organic trapped bacteria. With a low head requirement to drive flows through media, the Up-Flo® Filter is recognised by councils for achieving greater than 75% TSS removal. Impressive.

Proud to be part of Foodstuffs LittaTrap™ Initiative

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On the 8th of June, World Oceans Day, Foodstuffs North Island launched a new pilot programme to stop waste flowing to the sea, rolling out a significant investment in rubbish traps for store-based stormwater drains.  

11 New World and PAK’nSAVE stores installed 125 LittaTrap™ catchers from innovative New Zealand company Stormwater360, to stop toxic waste and plastic flowing through drains to our waterways. 

Dutton Stormwater were very proud to be the installers of LittaTrap™ stormwater filters into 11 designated Foodstuffs sites around the north island. We were trained by Stormwater 360 and hit the road for a great cause! 

Mayor calls for Stormwater System overhaul

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We cleaned a CDS unit in East Tamaki and we were honored enough to have the Right Honorable Mayor Phil Geoff come and see what we were doing. It was also on TV1 which gave many of our crew their first TV debut.

Katie Bradford reported for TV1 News:

“The Auckland stormwater treatment system collects roughly 5000 tonnes of plastic waste each year, but plenty of other plastic makes its way straight into the coasts surrounding the city. To help combat that, the council wants to upgrade every major storm pipe in Auckland.

“It’s going to cost millions of dollars because we are going to have to retrofit the system so that every storm water pipe filters out the sort of storm water rubbish we have seen today,” Mr Goff said.”

Challenge to the city

Our challenge to you this month is to pick up a piece of rubbish every day, even if it is not yours!

From the Director’s Desk – July

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Each morning when the crew stand in the shed waiting for the WIFLE to start, I drive in wondering how the mood of the crew will be? It is cold, dark and often wet and I am about to ask them to head off into the darkness to service stormwater devices all over Auckland.

I am always astounded at their positivity and enthusiasm. This is a team anyone would be proud to be a part of. I am proud to be the leader of this group and I am grateful for what they do for our business.

Changes to the Dutton Stormwater team

In June we said goodbye to Jezza – Jerry Neho. He is off to Australia to make a new start and we wish him well. This has left the Operations team a little light on manpower for servicing stormwater filters. The boys have stepped up, and for the month of June we completed 97% of our planned jobs. This is a stellar effort considering we had a major Litta-trap project for one of our largest customers – Foodstuffs – to finish before World Ocean’s Day on the 8th of June.

We are in the process of recruiting two more staff members who will join in August as Stormwater Technicians.

Let’s not forget the trucks – our man Leon gave two of our trucks a full birthday and painted them our pristine Ice White. Small Boy and Big Boy are repainted and ready to start playing their part in cleaning up Auckland’s oceans.

LittaTrap™ Foodstuffs project major focus in June

Our major focus for June was to complete the roll-out of the installation of LittaTrap™ stormwater filters into 11 designated Foodstuffs sites around the north island. We geared ourselves up, got ourselves trained by Stormwater 360 and hit the road. This was a major team effort.

  • Our sales team had to plot and measure the dimensions of each cess pit we were installing a litter trap into.
  • Our logistics team had to order the correct number of Litta-traps for each crew.
  • The Logistics Crew then arranged the journeys in the most efficient manner possible and booked all the accommodation.
  • The operations team got themselves geared up with cordless dynadrills, hammer drills and Stanley knives and hit the road going north, south and east.

We finished the project well before the deadline and on the 8th of June one of the LittaTrap™ we installed in Wellington New World was on TV with the environment minister and other Foodstuffs representatives. It was a most enjoyable project and we look forward to rolling it out to the rest of the stores in the north island.