People were still enjoying the Paihia beachfront yesterday, oblivious to a major sewage spill six hours earlier. Wayne Stanley
By Kathryn PowleyA sewage spill has dumped 700,000 litres of raw effluent into Northland's biggest tourist mecca, the Bay of Islands.
Although the Far North District Council said warning signs had been put up soon after the spill was discovered around 10.20am, swimmers and tourist operators were still unaware yesterday afternoon.
Health authorities say it will be days before it is safe for people to swim or kayak in the area, and is likely to be several weeks before it is safe to take shellfish.
The council's spokesman Rick McCall said sewage had burst through Puketona Rd, in the Kaipatiki Valley, and flowed about two kilometres into the Waitangi River estuary and then into the sea.
The council is now trucking all of Paihia's sewage, which would normally have been pumped through the ruptured pipeline, to a treatment plant in Waitangi Forest.
Although the Bay of Islands is currently crowded with tourists, Mr McCall said the pipe was designed to cope with the seasonal influx of visitors and was not scheduled for replacement. It had not failed before, as pump stations on that line had.
At first it was thought the break was caused by a major obstruction in the line, but Mr McCall later said it was a "straight pipe failure", the cause of which was not yet known.
Contractors were on the scene within 20 minutes of the break. Repairs to the pipeline were under way, Mr McCall said.
Northland Health health protection officer Tahi Morton said the spill affected the Waitangi River from Haruru Falls to the Waitangi Estuary, and Wairoa Bay to the Paihia foreshore.
"This is a major spill. I think it's particularly bad. There's a history of sewage spills from the Haruru Falls area." He said it was likely the Waitangi area would be closed for swimming and other activities, such as canoeing, for several days.
"Human sewage contains bugs that could cause diarrhoea, vomiting, skin infections and even coughs and colds.
"Shellfish are likely to stay polluted for several weeks so please don't collect them until given the okay," he said.
Word of the spill had not reached tourism operators spoken to by The Northern Advocate yesterday afternoon. David Perks, general manager of the Copthorne Hotel and Resort, and chairman of the region's tourism development tourism group, had not heard.
"This is a negative thing to happen particularly at the height of the tourist season," Mr Perks said.
However, he said the group and Far North District Council had recently successfully applied for $1.5million in Government funding for sewage work in popular tourist spots.
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