Sewage spill at Waipu estuary

Whangarei District Council's environmental health team are erecting signs and speaking with the community in the Waipu Cove area about a sewage spill into the Waipu Cove end of the Waipu Estuary.
 

A pipe from a pumping station at a private establishment had broken at its connection with Council’s main sewer line and had been spilling sewage intermittently into a ditch which drained into a tributary to the Waipu River.

"We don’t think the quantity of material spilt has been very large, but we don’t know how long the pipe has been broken. We were alerted when a Council contractor working on water reticulation nearby by noticed the leak and got in touch with us," said WDC wastewater asset engineer Rob Korenhof.

"We were able to repair the break within three hours."

Contractors working on repairing the pipe noted two short 'flushes' into the drain over the three hour repair period.

"Today our environmental health people are taking water samples and this will continue for at least eight days or until samples become clear," he said.

"They are also talking to the camping ground operators in the area to make sure they alert holiday makers over the weekend, and we are posting signs at locations around the estuary.

"Our advice from the District Health Board is for people to avoid swimming or playing in the water at the Waipu Cove end of the Waipu estuary for five days and not to gather shellfish in the area for the next 28 days or until warning signs are removed."