Wattle Downs resident Christine McKean talks to the Herald about the recent sewage leak at her property. Video/Jason Oxenham
An Auckland woman is up in arms over a sewage leak that left toilet paper and waste strewn over the backyard of her daughter's Housing New Zealand home.
Christine Mckean said the mess started flowing onto her daughter's property in the South Auckland suburb of Wattle Downs on Saturday morning.
The sewage overflow is believed to have been caused by a blockage at her property in Siska Place.
It followed health risk alerts being issued for several beaches across Auckland at the weekend due to overflows caused by heavy rain.
Sewage water, toilet paper and faecal matter was seeping onto the family's backyard and down to the estuary at the back of the property.
"It's all toilet paper, poo, all of that," Mckean said.
Mckean, who didn't live at the property but frequently visited, said her daughter had called Housing New Zealand to complain "four or five times" since the leak occurred.
Her daughter had five kids and she was worried the overflow posed a health hazard to her family.
While the water from the overflow had receded, waste matter remained, drying around the lawn on Monday afternoon.
Christine McKean, with her 10-year-old granddaughter Manaia Angel in the backyard of her daughter's Wattle Downs home. Photo / Jason Oxenham
"My babies are going to be getting sick, next thing you know," Mckean said.
Mckean said her daughter, Patricia Angell, had been struggling with the smell.
"Like a sewage pond," she said.
"It gets a little bit stronger when the wind is up."
A Housing New Zealand spokesman confirmed contractors had been at the property on two separate occasions over the weekend after complaints were laid.
"The drain was unblocked and lime put down to help take care of any potential health matters," he said.
"Our contractors will be back on site tomorrow to carry out further investigations including using CCTV cameras and to see if any further remediation is needed."
The spokesman said the overflow hadn't had any effect on any other properties on the street.
A spokeswoman from Watercare said the organisation did not have a record of any overflow at the home on Siska Place over the weekend.
Upon hearing about the incident on Monday afternoon, the organisation deployed workers to the property.
"Watercare has now arranged for a clean-up crew to attend the Siska Place property this evening to thoroughly cleanse and disinfect the area," she said.
Workers had responded to a call on Saturday about a sewage overflow at neighbouring street Volante Ave, she said, which was quickly cleared.
