‘It’s a catastrophe’: Wellington rages as millions of litres of raw sewage pour into ocean | New Zealand

A A wave of anger is rising in New Zealand’s capital, Wellington, as the city’s toilets continue to flow directly into the ocean, more than two weeks after the catastrophic collapse of its sewage treatment plant.

Since February 4, millions of liters of raw and partially filtered sewage have been flowing daily into pristine reefs and a marine reserve along the south coast, sparking a national investigation as authorities struggle to bring the decimated plant back into operation.

Abandoned beaches, public health warning signs and seagulls eating human waste are now features of the popular coastline, with the environmental disaster zone adjacent to the airport where thousands of international visitors disembark each day.

Fears about the safety of marine ecosystems – including vulnerable species such as the little blue penguin, or kororā, which nest along the shoreline – mix with worries about the duration and cost of disruption to those who rely on the coast for income, well-being and recreation.

As a southern storm swept across the lower North Island and dumped polluted seawater this week, hundreds of residents turned out for a public meeting to seek answers.

“They’re warning us to close our windows because a shit-laden hurricane is coming our way,” said Eugene Doyle, a South Coast resident and environmentalist whose home faces the sea. “Everyone responsible has done a terrible job and they need to be held accountable. »

Ray Ahipene-Mercer, 78, who led a 16-year campaign to build the sewage plant in the 1980s, said he felt empty. Before 1998, the ocean smelled and looked terrible, with feces visible on the rocks and surfers regularly suffering from ear infections and gastroenteritis.

“I thought everything was done, and here we are back where we were 30 years ago,” said Ahipene-Mercer, of Ngāi Tara descent. “It’s a disaster.”

On February 4, a nighttime power outage flooded the Moa Point wastewater treatment plant, destroying 80% of the equipment. Initially, raw sewage was pumped directly from a five meter pipe near a beach in Tarakena Bay. Now, most wastewater is sent 1.8km offshore into Cook Strait, after being filtered for large objects such as tampons and wet wipes.

Water management has long been a contentious issue in New Zealand, with legislation to centralize its control and overhaul outdated services rejected by the national-led coalition government in favor of local reforms in early 2024.

In Wellington, aging pipes have caused problems with sewage and stormwater flooding. The Moa Point plant is owned and overseen by two tiers of local government and a council-owned water utility – Wellington Water – which has contracted French waste management company Veolia to run the plant.

“It seemed complicated to me, and it wasn’t clear where the real authority was,” Wellington Mayor Andrew Little, who has been in office for four months, told the Guardian, adding that Wellingtonians were in a “state of shock”.

A crown inquiry, called by local government minister Simon Watts, will examine the causes of the disaster. “The public needs to have confidence that we understand what led to this failure and that we are taking action to prevent this from happening again,” Watts told Radio New Zealand.

He said as part of the Coalition Government’s water reforms, a new entity, Tiaki Wai, would take over from Wellington Water in July, with the aim of improving services. Councils are to blame for underinvestment in water infrastructure, and new legislation would address this, he said.

Little said he could not speculate on cause due to the investigation. Wellington Water did not respond to specific questions by deadline and said it could not comment publicly due to the ongoing investigation. Veolia also declined to comment.

Wellington Water chairman Pat Dougherty previously told Radio New Zealand there had been underinvestment over a long period at Moa Point and he supported an investigation. “I’m concerned that there were warning signs that there were problems with the landfill and we missed them. But everything has to be on the table.”

But for many, this is little comfort. Residents say low-level pollution has already blighted Wellington’s short summer, with recurring sewage releases indicating a bigger problem at the plant. Official reports have noted ongoing problems and warnings about underfunding for years, and officials have said a solution could still take months.

“We are facing generations of neglect, at a time when our climate is changing dramatically,” said Tamatha Paul, the Green Party MP for Wellington Central and former city councilor who called this week’s meeting.

“The way this will affect really vulnerable and delicate species that are already endangered, the fact that their entire habitat will be devastated is heartbreaking.”

Help from the central government is crucial, she said.

Local iwi [tribes] have long opposed sewage being released into the ocean, Taranaki Whanui chair Te Whatanui Winiata said. “It is our source of sustenance, we are relationships with the moana [ocean]. We have been crying from the beginning, saying that this type of sewage system only causes havoc. The reaction of our people is indignation, shock and anguish.

As beaches remain closed and businesses report losses, Victoria University marine biologist Christopher Cornwall said a “large number” of sea creatures that inhabit the various reefs around the south coast would suffer the most.

Continued pollution could cause a massive kelp die-off in the Taputeranga Marine Reserve – home to species such as mussels, kina, pāua, sea sponges, fish, crayfish, octopus and penguins – killing their homes and food sources, he said.

Human-borne bacteria and viruses could make these sea creatures sick and accumulate in shellfish, making them unsafe to eat. Microplastics enter the stomachs of seabirds and penguins that eat human waste, tricking them into thinking they are full and starving.

The Department of Conservation said the extent of the damage was not yet known, but would be affected by the length and volume of the spill, ocean currents and wind.

New Zealanders needed to rethink why sewage was flowing into oceans, Cornwall said. “I don’t understand why you would put a pipe between two reefs anyway, and now all this fecal matter is being washed straight away. Why are we pumping sewage into a kelp forest? This is clearly not acceptable, and we should never have been in this situation.”

It’s a feeling shared by many. From her home in Island Bay, Kayla Henderson often watches dolphins play in the Taputeranga Reserve. Outside of the meeting this week, the young ocean lover felt helpless.

“I just care about the environment,” she said. “And I want to have confidence that we won’t have raw sewage and waste dumped into protected marine waterways. I didn’t think it would be this difficult.”