‘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 a wastewater treatment plant.

Millions of liters of raw and partially filtered sewage have been pouring into pristine reefs and marine reserves off the south coast every day since February 4 as authorities scramble to bring the destroyed facility back into operation, prompting a national investigation.

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 land every day.

Fears for the safety of marine ecosystems, including vulnerable species such as the little blue penguin, or corora, that nest along the coast are compounded by concerns about the duration and cost of disruption to those who depend on the coast for income, health and recreation.

As a southerly storm lashed the lower North Island this week, churning up polluted seawater, hundreds of residents attended a public meeting seeking answers.

“They’re warning us to close our windows because there’s a shit-filled hurricane coming our way,” said Eugene Doyle, a south coast resident and environmentalist whose home overlooks the sea. “Everyone responsible did a terrible job and they need to be held accountable.”

Ray Ahipene-Mercer, 78, who led a 16-year campaign to build the treatment plant in the 80s, said he felt drained. Before 1998, the ocean smelled and looked awful; There was visible feces on the rocks, and surfers routinely suffered from ear infections and gastroenteritis.

“I thought it was all over and here we are back to where we were 30 years ago,” said Ahipene-Mercer, who is of Ngāi Tara descent. “This is a disaster.”

An overnight power outage on February 4 flooded the Moa Point wastewater treatment plant, destroying 80% of the equipment. Originally raw sewage was pumped directly through a five-metre pipe near a beach in Tarakena Bay. Most wastewater is now sent 1.8km offshore in the Cook Strait after being screened for large objects such as tampons and wet wipes.

Water management has long been a controversial issue in New Zealand; Legislation to centralize water management and overhaul legacy services was introduced by the National-led coalition government in early 2024 in favor of local reforms.

In Wellington, aging pipes have caused problems with wastewater and stormwater flooding. The Moa Point facility is owned and controlled by two layers of local government and Wellington Water, a municipal water utility that contracts with French-owned waste management company Veolia to operate the facility.

“It seemed confused 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 royal inquiry called by local government minister Simon Watts will investigate the causes of the disaster. “We owe the public reassurance that we understand what led to this failure and will take steps to prevent it from happening again,” Watts told Radio New Zealand.

He said as part of the coalition government’s water reforms, a new agency called Tiaki Wai would take over from Wellington Water in July, which he expected would improve services. He said councils were responsible for underinvestment in water infrastructure and new legislation would address this problem.

Little said he could not speculate on motives 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 that Moa Point has long been underinvested in and that he supports an investigation. “I worry that there may be some early warning signs that there are issues with discharge and we’re missing them. But everything needs to be on the table.”

But for many, this is cold comfort. Locals say low-level pollution is already marring Wellington’s summer, with recurring sewage discharges pointing to a deeper problem at the site. Official reports show years of ongoing problems and warnings of underfunding, and officials say a fix could still take months.

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

“The way this is affecting really vulnerable, sensitive species that are already endangered, the fact that their entire habitat is being devastated is heartbreaking.”

He said the central government’s help was vital.

local iwi [tribes] Taranaki Whanui president Te Whatanui Winiata said they have long opposed wastewater going into the ocean. “This is our livelihood, we are related to moana [ocean]. We have been crying from the beginning saying that this type of sewage system is causing havoc. “The reaction of our people is one of anger, shock and pain.”

Victoria University marine biologist Christopher Cornwall said while beaches remained closed and businesses reported losses, the “large numbers” of marine life that called various reefs off the south coast would suffer the most.

He said ongoing pollution could cause mass algae die-off in the Taputeranga Marine Reserve, which is home to species such as mussels, kina, pāua, sea sponges, fish, crayfish, octopuses and penguins, destroying their homes and food sources.

In addition to making these marine creatures sick, human-borne bacteria and viruses can accumulate in shellfish, making them unsafe to eat. Microplastics enter the stomachs of seabirds and penguins that eat human waste, causing them to think they are full and die of hunger.

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

Cornwall said New Zealanders needed to rethink why wastewater was ending up in the oceans. “I have no idea why you’d put a pipe between two reefs anyway, and now all this fecal material is drifting in. Why are we pumping sewage into the kelp forest? This is totally fine and we should never have been in this situation.”

A sentiment shared by many. Kayla Henderson often watches the dolphins play in the Taputeranga reserve from her home in Island Bay. Except for this week’s meeting, the young ocean lover felt helpless.

“I just care about the environment,” he said. “And I want to have confidence that raw sewage and garbage will not find their way into protected marine waterways. I didn’t think it would be this difficult.”