Residents of New Zealand capital advised not to enter the water, collect seafood or walk their dogs on local beaches after wastewater plant failure
A sewage leak in New Zealand’s capital Wellington has been described by local authorities as an “environmental disaster,” with repairs to the city’s wastewater treatment plant expected to take months.
Residents of Wellington have been advised not to enter the water, collect seafood or even walk their dogs on local beaches.
On Wednesday, the lower floors of the Moa Point wastewater treatment plant were completely flooded after heavy rain caused sewage to back up into the 1.8km outfall pipe that normally discharges treated wastewater into Cook Strait, according to Wellington Water.
As a result, untreated sewage began flowing through a shorter five-metre outfall pipe into the waters off Wellington’s south coast.
