Pilot Bay swim ban until further notice after wet wipe and fat build-up causes blockage and overflow

Health warning signs at Pilot Bay. Photo / File

Pilot Bay remains unswimmable until further notice due to health risks posed by Sunday's sewerage overflow.

Tauranga City Council environmental programme leader Radleigh Cairns said the current advice was to not swim in Pilot Bay while they waited for the results of water sampling tests.

"Staff will sample each day until results are consistently below the recreational bathing water guidelines."

Sunday night's blockage, which resulted in sewage overflowing into the stormwater network and consequently the harbour was reported to the council about 8.10pm that night.

The cause of the overflow was a wet wipe and fat blockage of the wastewater network.

A council spokeswoman told the Bay of Plenty Times yesterday that the blockage happened at an apartment building where the gully traps overflowed into the stormwater network that discharges at Salisbury Wharf.

The cause was found to be a build-up of fats and the overflow was located close to Rata St while the blockage was located near Puriri St and Tawa St.

Contractors were able to locate and clear the blockage by 9.30pm. Clean up of the overflow area took another 30 minutes.

Cairns said the water quality testing is undertaken along Pilot Bay in line with the 'Microbiological water quality guidelines for recreational water'.

The samples are tested for Enterococci which is used as an indicator of possible sewage contamination. The presence of this bacteria in marine water shows another micro-organism - which is deemed a health risk - could be there, too.

Cairns said after initially clearing the blockage, contractors went back to fully flush and clear the line.

The second 'flush' resulted in a much larger amount of fat flowing into the downstream pump station.

The line will now be monitored through CCTV to ensure there is nothing structurally wrong.

Cairns said the council was continually looking to raise awareness about what should or should not enter the wastewater network.

"As a council, we are in our third year of running an education campaign to create awareness of the issues caused by flushing wet wipes, and this sadly is another example of that."

She said staff sent out a media release notifying the community, along with social media posts including targeted posts to residents in the area of the blockage and overflow.

"Our team will also be door knocking to hand out flyers in the relevant area in an effort to reach people who may not be aware of the issue."

The flyers educate people about the issues caused by flushing fats and wet wipes, even when they are marketed as flushable.