Illegal connections blamed for Wellington's favourite dive spot being contaminated with raw sewage

Friday, 29 March 2019

Wellington's harbour swimmers, divers and bombers are being told to go elsewhere - raw sewage is entering the city's top swimming hole.

Pipes have been illegally altered, allowing very high levels of faecal coliforms in test results from the water near Taranaki Wharf at the diving platform.

Wellington Water spokesman Alex van Paassen said some cross connections allowing sewage in to stormwater pipes could have been made by plumbers.

''Very high'' levels of faecal coliforms have been found in test results from Wellington's prime diving spot on Taranaki Wharf.

'Someone has done some renovations and put in an extra bathroom or something, and the plumber has looked at where the stormwater pipe runs through the property and connected it up with the sewerage.'

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Testing earlier this week found the presence of E coli bacteria right next to the diving platform on Taranaki Wharf, causing it to be cordoned off.

The house owner with the cross connection could be completely unaware, van Paassen said.

'By the time we find the connection, the house could've been bought or sold.'

To find the properties involved, of which there could be many, would be a complicated process, he said.

'We've identified a cross connection [in Te Aro] that we want to get fixed really quickly, and we're working with the owner to do that.'

He suspected there were more.

'We might be able to fix this in the next year, but you can be pretty sure, and I'm pretty sure, that there will be other issues out there.'

The flow of wastewater was not continual, and testing would not always pick up contamination caused by cross connecting pipes, he said.

'This is one reason why it's generally not a good idea to be swimming next to stormwater outlets in the city.'

Taranaki Wharf and the area cordoned off from swimmers is the city's most popular diving hole.

Just last month, Wellington's annual bomb dive competition was held in the potentially contaminated waters.

The swimming area below the diving platform had baffles to protect swimmers from potential contamination, he said.

'Water quality results there have been okay, but I understand that the signs have been put there as a precaution.'

People are being encouraged to swim in the harbour by entering the water at Oriental Bay or other points distant from the inner harbour.

Warning signs have been posted in the area and Greater Wellington's Is it Safe to Swim? web pages have been updated to reinforce the warning.

The precautions will remain in place until testing shows that water quality has returned to safe levels.

Swimming in water with potential sewage contamination can lead to symptoms such as fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, or infections of the eyes, ears, nose and throat.

If people have any health concerns following contact with the water in this area they should contact their doctor or Healthline 0800 611 116.