Week-long sewage leak onto beach

A blocked sewerage pipe has overflowed into a stormwater stream residents say leads directly onto Milford Beach.

Residents on Seaview Rd, Castor Bay, first reported sewage flowing into the stream behind their homes to Auckland Watercare Services on February 26.

Seaview Rd resident Tapan Karambelkar says Watercare Services arrived on February 26 to fix the problem but the leak has recurred over the past week.

Karambelkar again notified Watercare of the leak on Saturday after the smell became particularly bad.

‘‘Saturday we noticed the whole stink come again and we just had a quick look at the back, saw that the storm water was full of dirt,’’ Karambelkar says.

‘‘We’re a unit of four and there’s a stream parallel to our houses which kind of comes downhill, disappears under Seaview Rd.

‘‘Just common sense tells me that that would go to the sea. It is a freshwater, storm water stream so I doubt it goes anywhere else.

‘‘The Watercare guy told me that I wouldn’t go swimming [in Milford Beach] if I was you for the next couple of weeks. But you know that could just be a joke.’’

Watercare communications manager Rachel Hughes says a crew had cleared the Seaview Rd pipe blockage, on March 4, and notified Auckland Council’s pollution team.

‘‘We will continue to monitor it

‘‘Just common sense tells me that that would go to the sea.’’

Tapan Karambelkar, Castor Bay resident

throughout today [March 5] and then carry out a more extensive investigation as to the cause of the blockage tomorrow,’’ Hughes says.

‘‘It is not due to a private property connecting wastewater to the stormwater network.’’

Karambelkar says a Watercare crew arrived around 6pm on Saturday, and worked until around midnight when they eventually fixed the leak.

‘‘They [Watercare crew] says the machinery they had wasn’t sufficient to fix the block, so then they had to wait for some heavy machinery to turn up,’’ Karambelkar says.

‘‘This morning I’ve had a look, it’s a lot cleaner but I wouldn’t say it’s completely clean, there’s still a stink there, I don’t know if they’re coming back.’’

Watercare Services had returned to the Seaview Rd property on Sunday, March 5.

TOM DILLANE/FAIRFAX NZ Auckland Watercare Services was still working on the leaking sewerage pipe in Seaview Rd, Castor Bay, on Sunday, March 5.