Substantial work on the flooded Wellington wastewater plant will take up to a week, with crews still investigating the full impact of the flooding on its equipment and operations.
"To reduce the impact of odour and stop the process going septic, we are working to empty the clarifiers and primary settling tanks," a Thursday update from Wellington Water said. "We estimate that this will continue for up to a week."
The public could expect to see some discolouration around the coastline while this work was done.
Sludge from the Moa Point plant's holding tanks would be taken to the Carey's Gully landfill over the next several days. " We estimate that this will continue for approximately a week/few days.
"During this time, it is likely that there will be an increase in odour due to the plant being offline and the work taking place onsite. We will do all that we can to mitigate the impacts of odour."
Shoreline inspections and debris clean-ups were taking place three times a day, usually at low tide.
"All untreated wastewater is still being discharged through the short outfall pipe. We are working to divert as much as possible to the long outfall, as quickly as possible, and to put screening in place to remove items like sanitary pads from the wastewater being discharged. We do not have a timeframe for when this will take place."
'Absolutely mortified'
An equipment failure during heavy rain flooded the facility on Wednesday, forcing the discharge of about 70 million litres of untreated sewage into the sea. Multiple floors of the facility were flooded with untreated wastewater.
Chief executive of Wellington Water Pat Dougherty told Breakfast this morning he was "absolutely mortified" by the incident.
It prompted a warning to residents on Wellington's south coast to stay out of the water. The issue was likely to take months to repair.
Speaking to Breakfast this morning, Wellington Water CEO described the incident as a "catastrophic event", calling it "the worst in my experience without any of a shadow of a doubt”.
He said there would "absolutely" be an independent inquiry into what happened.
“We owe that to the community of Wellington.”
Asked how such significant flooding could occur, Dougherty said maintenance work at the plant was underway while heavy rain battered the city. Half of the capacity was to be treated, while the other half was diverted through a bypass and was supposed to come together before heading to the outfall.
“For some reason, the outfall was not able to cope with that volume of wastewater, and it backed up into the worksite.
“The outfall should have been able to cope with that amount of effluent so that’s one of the things we need to find out.”
He expected around 60% to 70% of the plant was inundated, with electrical and control equipment likely affected.
In the Thursday update, Wellington Water said staff were still onsite at affected areas, handing out fliers and speaking with the local community.
Dougherty said today's focus would be getting power back on and changing the flow from the short outfall, which is sending sewage just off the coast, to the long outfall, which sends wastewater nearly two kilometres out to sea.
Wellington Water were sending cameras down the beginning end of the pipe and divers to the other end to check it's condition.
“We hope to get onto the long outfall in a few days,” but repairs could take months, Dougherty said.
Even with that diversion, untreated wastewater would still need to be discharged through the short outfall as it could only cope with dry weather flow.
Locals have been urged to avoid the south coast beaches.
"Certainly don’t take your dog, don’t take children, the water quality is not good at the moment, and public health is of critical importance to us."
People could still drink water as normal.
Wellington Water said the sampling area had been extended from Breaker Bay to Seatoun, with samples taken at sites every 24 hours.
A rāhui extends to Breaker Bay, but does not cover the area of coastline through to Seatoun.
Yesterday, National Public Health Service medical officer of health Dr Jill McKenzie said Health NZ advised the public to stay off the beach and avoid all contact with the water on the south coast.
"Check Land, Air, Water Aotearoa - Wellington Region for information on potentially affected areas. Do not collect or eat shellfish/kai moana from the affected coastal waters," she said.
"If you have been exposed to the water and develop symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhoea, fever, cough, rash, irritation of the ears, nose or throat, seek medical attention and inform the healthcare provider of your possible contact with sewage. Healthline is a free over-the-phone health service available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 0800 611 116."
The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including raw sewage flowing into the sea, Bill Gates talks about his ties to Epstein, and the Black Foils count down to Auckland Sail GP. (Source: 1News)
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