Untreated wastewater is being discharged into the ocean at Wellington’s south coast after a major equipment failure forced the shutdown of the Moa Point Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Wellington Water confirmed the discharge into Tarakena Bay began at 1am on Wednesday, correcting earlier reports that stated it started at 3am. The discharge is ongoing while crews work urgently to stabilise the situation.
The incident was discovered after a duty manager responded to an alarm activation and an alert from Fire and Emergency New Zealand. The equipment failure caused significant flooding inside the facility, with multiple floors and key operational areas inundated. As a result, the plant has been fully shut down, power has been switched off, and staff have been evacuated from the site.
Wellington Water Chief Executive Pat Dougherty described the situation as serious and warned the plant could remain offline for an extended period.
The immediate priority is restoring power, restarting operations, and diverting wastewater through the long outfall pipe to improve dispersion and reduce the environmental impact along the coastline.
Residents and visitors are being urged to stay away from south coast beaches. Public health signage is being installed at Lyall Bay and surrounding coastal areas, and people are being warned not to enter the water or collect seafood.
Customer response teams are being deployed to provide information to the public, while environmental specialists begin water quality testing.
Wellington just became even crappier… if that’s possible.
So much collected in exorbitant rates and we still get this.
Between Christchurch’s ‘Big Stink’ with midge infestations, Welly’s major failure, and Auckland’s overflows, one can’t help but wonder;
Why haven’t these various ‘Environmental Councils’ that are supported by ratepayer money involved in wastewater plant inspections as part of their profile?
Why aren’t there invitations going out from the councils for bids that could be sent to civil engineering firms to upgrade these facilities?
Funding for ‘on the ground light rail’ and various tunnel systems won’t do the ridership any good if the populations are sick from raw sewage-related diseases, coupled with more Covid / Plandemic bullshit..!
Where is the emergency funding?? Oh…I forgot…it’s all been sent to Israel and the Ukraine (while families abd the elderly starve here in NZ…)!
Are the ferries going to be effected too, with tampons wrapping tightly around the propeller shafts causing the engines to overheat?
What about the fibrous paper towels that obsessive-compulsive handwashing PhD’s employed at the hospitals dry their hands with?
These always seem to end-up being flushed down the toilets?
Imagine the simultaneous damage to the fisheries throughout the country…and yet the Maori and Green Parties have never submitted a bill under environmental urgency to upgrade the sewerage wastewater plants, nor the water plants that are supposed to provide drinking water, which soon will be fluoride-free if everyonme were to vote for the NZ Loyal Party or the NZ O&FP…!
Any sh^t treatment plant, xcuse the pun, would be half as expensive to build if it wasn’t for red tape parasites.
Good job
Has made my day
Couldn’t have happened in a nicer place
Put the rates up should help things
Untreated shit has been spewing out of the Beehive for quite some time too, but it hasn’t just polluted Wellington. It’s polluted the whole nation and not being cleaned up but getting worse.
Best comment of the day 😂