Investigation after Lake Taupo 'code brown'

Monday, 5 December 2016

Swimming along Lake Terrace was banned last Friday after a 'code brown' saw sewerage spilled into the pristine waters. 

Taupo District Council has launched an investigation into the sewer blockage and are scrambling to determine the cause. 

The alarm was raised shortly after 5pm on December 2 when a manhole was seen bubbling near the intersection of Pataka Road and Lake Terrace. 

It is thought a ball of roots had blocked the pipe causing the sewage to back up and over flow. Council said they estimate one to two cubic metres [1000-2000 litres] of sewage entered the lake. 

'We were fortunate in that our contractors were able to respond quickly and sucker trucks were used to remove a good quantity of sewage almost immediately,' Infrastructure manager Denis Lewis said. 'What is unfortunate is that sewage entered the lake at all. 

'We will be putting a camera down the pipe over the next couple of days so we can get a better understanding of what caused the blockage and if anything needs to be done to prevent it from happening again.'

Signs warning swimmers away were removed on December 5 once the all clear had been given. 

Lewis said protecting the lake is something the council takes very seriously and says hundreds of thousands of dollars has been spent cleaning sewer pipes in the district. 

 'Fat, grease and wipes also cause problems when they are not disposed of the correct way,' Lewis said.  'Then there are the number of foreign objects that end up in the wastewater system.' 

Lewis said once there was even a pair of curtains shoved down a manhole that caused the system to back up.  'We can't plan for that and it is not okay,' he said. 

'We need everyone to do the right thing to help us protect the lake. We are all responsible.'