Photo: Kate TaptiklisWellington Water says screened wastewater is now being discharged straight into the Cook Strait again after days of it being near the shoreline on the city's south coast. On Wednesday, the Moa Point wastewater plant's lower floors completely flooded when sewage backed up in the 1.8km outfall pipe, which normally sends treated wastewater into Cook Strait between the North and South islands. In a notice this morning, Wellington Water said screened wastewater was now discharging to the long outfall pipe again. Wellington Water board chair Nick Leggett said at present, they were only able to pump 900 litres per second of wastewater through the long outfall pipe. Wellington Water said discharging screened wastewater out to sea via the 1.8km long outfall pipe allowed for greater dilution of the wastewater in the Cook Strait, reducing the amount of untreated wastewater flowing around the coastline.

Source: Otago Daily Times February 06, 2026 06:02 UTC