Swimmers ‘literally swimming in it’ after Porirua sewage discharge not notified

Thursday, 11 April 2024

Wellington Water is being slammed after taking more than 18 hours to notify of a sewage discharge into Porirua’s Tītahi Bay – leaving no time to stop swimmers diving in on a busy and summery April Sunday.

Liz Kelly, the Wellington City Council pouiwi representing Ngāti Toa and a former Poririua deputy mayor, saw families at Tītahi Bay on Sunday, seemingly unaware that sewage was flowing into the bay.

“I get really hō-hā. Wellington Water seem to cover their backsides all the time – that they did what they were meant to. They didn’t and they don’t,” she said.

Wellington Water recently claimed there should be no discharge into Tītahi Bay unless there was heavy rain, she said. It said on Wednesday the leaked wastewater was partially treated.

“What is the difference if it is full poo or partial poo?” Kelly said.

“It is still poo. You wouldn’t swim in it or drink it.”

MetService’s John Law said the last heavy showers in Tītahi Bay were 8mm in an hour on Thursday.

Michelle Warshawsky, who swam in the bay with a group on Sunday, said there were no signs warning of the discharge – which Wellington Water was obliged to put out under its consent – and an email notification came after they were already in the “very cloudy” water.

“We were literally swimming in it,” she said.

The beach was packed with families on Sunday due to the good weather and the nearby Porirua Grand Traverse multi-sport event, she said.

She laid an official complaint about the leak with the Greater Wellington Regional Council.

Porirua mayor Anita Baker got her first notification from Wellington Water about a discharge that “might have caused a discolouration” at 8.08am on Sunday. The partially treated wastewater discharge started more than 18 hours earlier at 1.45pm on Saturday. No Tītahi Bay councillors got the notification.

She went to the beach and warned some boaties, who were heading out unaware of the discharge, but she couldn’t talk to a couple of swimmers already far out in the bay.

Wellington Water’s notification said recreational water users should check the Land, Air, Water Aotearoa website, which suggested staying out of the water for two to three days after heavy rain.

To Baker, there were two major flaws: There had been no heavy rain and “nobody checks the ruddy internet before they go for a swim”.

Wellington Water should have had signs at the beach to notify water users of a discharge, she said.

She wrote to Wellington Water chief executive Tonia Haskell of her “disappointment”.

“Why can we not have signs on this beach only? Seriously this was a bad look yesterday with such a large event.”

Haskell wrote back to Baker that she too was not happy with the situation and had staff looking into it urgently.

Wellington Water chief waste water adviser Steve Hutchison said the Saturday afternoon discharge lasted for two hours and 21 minutes. The cause was being investigated.

It was logged on the Wellington water website and put on social media, he said..

“We acknowledge that there was a delay in notifying the public on this and we apologise for that. We will have a look at our processes to see what improvements can be made.”

Wellington Water said signs went up at 7.30am on Sunday. This conflicts with Baker and Warshawsky, who were both there, saw.