It could take months to repair damaged equipment after a “significant incident” at a Wellington water treatment plant sent raw sewage pouring into the ocean.
An “equipment failure” at the Moa Point Wastewater Treatment Plant early today led to the site being evacuated after multiple floors were inundated with untreated wastewater, Wellington Water said.
The capital’s water provider has apologised for the “unacceptable” situation, which is causing raw sewage flood into local beaches.
Speaking to media this afternoon, chief executive Pat Dougherty said the cause of the issue was not yet known, with electrical equipment in the plant submerged in sewage and some areas still inaccessible.
He described the facility as like a house underwater.
He said it could take months to fix the damage done by the failure.
“Our immediate focus is restoring power to the plant, resuming service, and diverting wastewater,” Dougherty said in an earlier statement.
“Wellington Water has set up an emergency management team and [is] working at pace to stabilise the situation.”
The facility, near the city’s airport, is expected to be closed for “an extended period”, the organisation said.
Dougherty this afternoon said Wellingtonians should not be concerned about using their amenities as usual, saying things like flushing a toilet would not be an issue.
Wellington Mayor Andrew Little said people need to stay off beaches on the city’s south coast.
“Don’t plan to have fun on the south coast beaches at Island Bay or Lyall Bay, the risks are too high, find something else useful or fun to do.”
A Herald photojournalist at the scene said a strong sewage odour could be smelled at the beach near the facility, and toilet paper and murky sewage water could be seen in the sea.
In a post on social media, the Wellington City Council said: “Due to high rainfall, there has been a discharge of partially treated wastewater from the Western Wastewater Treatment Plant into the Karori Stream, which flows into the sea on the south coast.
“At the Moa Point Wastewater Treatment Plant, a mechanical failure has resulted in discharge of partially treated wastewater that will emerge around 1.8km off the coast of Lyall Bay and untreated at Tarakena Bay. Wellington Water are investigating.”
The discharge may cause the water to appear cloudy or murky, the council said.
“For your health and safety, please stay out of the water and check Lawa.”
Lawa (Land Air Water Aotearoa) is a website that offers environmental data.
The council called it a “major incident” and said it was urging people to avoid beaches on the south coast and around the harbour.
“Raw, untreated sewage is flowing into the sea from the old ‘short’ outfall pipe,” they said in another post.
Wellington Water said it would have “boots on the ground today, with our customer teams distributing information about public health and advice”.
“An environmental team will be undertaking water quality testing. More information will be provided at lunchtime today. This is a complex incident, and all necessary resources are being utilised,” the capital’s water provider said.
Rongotai MP Julie Anne Genter said the news of the incident is a “terrible reminder of the importance of investing in our infrastructure and ensuring that we are working with nature to protect our wai and our moana”.
“This will be hugely disappointing for all those Wellingtonians who love to swim, surf, snorkel, gather kai and make the most of our beautiful coast,” Genter said.
“Clearly this is unacceptable and, once the initial problem is fixed, I will be asking hard questions about just how this happened and what we need to do to stop it from happening again.”
She is reminding constituents to stay out of the water and show their appreciation to Wellington Water workers.