Thousands of litres of raw sewage have spewed into Wellington Harbour as engineers rush to repair a broken pipe.
For two days, wastewater has been overflowing from a pipe at the Days Bay pump station in Eastbourne. This afternoon, a rāhui on the harbour was laid.
In a media release this afternoon, Taranaki Whānui said they were disappointed wastewater overflow has again led to the pollution of the Waiwhetū Stream.
"This is the latest event in what has been a reoccurring issue of both treated and untreated wastewater into our precious coastal and marine environment," chief executive Kara Puketapu-Dentice said.
"The leaders of Te Atiawa Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika have agreed to place a rāhui covering Waiwhetū Stream, the Eastern portion of Te Whanganui a Tara to Parangarehu (Pencarrow Point) and Te Awa Kairangi (to Waione Street Bridge) for as long as the discharge continues."
Wastewater overflow warnings have been issued for Days Bay, York Bay, and Sunshine Bay.
Wellington Water group manager, network management Jeremy McKibben said isolating the leak "was more complex than usual".
"This is because of multiple pump stations, valves, and two wastewater pipes that are supplying flow to the leak," he said.
Crews have been draining the problem pipe to fix it, but the task is complex due to changing tides, a busy stretch of road, and poor lighting at night.
Puketapu-Dentice acknowledged the complexities involved in repairing the damaged wastewater infrastructure but urged for the repairs to be prioritised.
"Enough is enough – this continued harm to our environment and community health needs to stop and the most recent incident underscores the need for urgency."
In the meantime, nearby residents have been told to put as little down the pipe as possible.
"Trying to cut down on showers and toilets, obviously," local Jeff Hobbs said.
Six sucker tanks are now transporting wastewater from the damaged site to another nearby plant, while some treated wastewater is being diverted into the nearby Waiwhetu Stream.
'Collective effort' needed
Before this emergency, a $20 million investigation was already underway to upgrade the piping in Wellington.
It needs to take higher flows as the population grows, but replacing the infrastructure from Seaview to Pencarrow Heads could cost an estimated $700 million.
"The whole area infrastructurally, we have not had the investment that has been needed for the past 10-plus years now. This is major,” Lower Hutt Deputy Mayor Tui Lewis said.
Taranaki Whānui chairman Te Whatanui Winiata said a "collective effort is required across central and local government, iwi and the community" to address the issue.
"We must invest now to avoid further compromising of our environment, our people, our future and to ensure our water services are sustainable, resilient and of the highest quality," he said.
“We remain committed to working collaboratively to protect our environment and uphold the mana of our people.”
Taranaki Whānui called for authorities to carry out environmental assessments and share them with the public to fully understand the impact of the discharge on marine life, water quality, and public health.
Public health hazard
The sea near the leak is home to mussel beds, shags, and little blue penguins – and is now a smelly public health hazard.
Not everybody found out about the leak in time.
"There were quite a few people here collecting mussels yesterday, quite a few kids swimming," resident Rupert Sutherland said.
McKibben said swimming in the water or eating food from it could potentially be dangerous.
"There's potentially E. coli. It could give them stomach upset and maybe worse, so yeah, please don't,” he said.
The works are not expected to be complete until later this week.
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