Rain overwhelms wastewater facilities
Days of rain have overwhelmed water networks in New Plymouth, resulting in wastewater being discharged into the sea.
Yesterday afternoon New Plymouth District Council spokesperson Jacqueline Baker issued a statement that heavy rainfall on Wednesday night had overwhelmed the district’s water infrastructure.
‘‘Stormwater and wastewater has been discharged out of the Waitara outfall to the Tasman Sea after the rain overwhelmed the town’s pump stations,’’ she said.
‘‘We regret having to do this but the volume of rainfall was greater than the capacity of the town’s systems.
‘‘We apologise and have been in touch with iwi and hapu¯, the TRC (Taranaki Regional Council) TDHB (Taranaki District Health Board) and recreational groups.’’
The quantity of water to be treated meant water coming out of New Plymouth’s wastewater treatment plant was not up to its usual standard either, Baker said.
‘‘Warning signs regarding swimming and food gathering are being put up at both Waitara and Waiwhakaiho.
‘‘Please follow the warning signs and do not collect kai from affected waterways for 28 days, and don’t swim in affected areas for two days.’’
The ageing water network is to be considered for funding in the council’s next 10-year plan, she said.
A report this year into the state of the district’s aged water infrastructure gave options ranging from $300 million in 10 years, to clear the backlog of bypassed maintenance, to $165m over the same period, which would keep replacements on track in the future but not catch up uncompleted work.
New Plymouth has had its share of water network problems in the last few years. In January 2019 up to 1.5 million litres of raw sewage was spilt into the Mangati Stream in Bell Block.
The rain has caused havoc further north as well.
Following more than 100mm of rain in Urutı¯ on Wednesday, a slip in the area closed SH3 until 11.30am yesterday.
At 2pm yesterday, Okoki Rd remained closed past the Piko Rd intersection.
Skies cleared across Taranaki yesterday morning and the Metservice 7-day forecast shows plenty of sunshine and warm temperatures coming up, after a few showers today.