Sewage spill at oxidation ponds

Heavy rainfall has overwhelmed a Taranaki town’s sewage treatment ponds, sending hundreds of thousands of litres of partially treated wastewater into a nearby stream every hour.

Last night New Plymouth District Council staff were monitoring the situation at the Inglewood oxidation pond and pumping as much of the sewage as they could through the New Plymouth wastewater treatment plant. However, in a press release, water manager Mark Hall said the overflow, estimated at 335,000 litres per hour, was only likely to end when it stopped raining so heavily.

Taranaki Regional Council data showed Inglewood was hit by heavy rain on both Monday and Tuesday. Rain is forecast again today, before clearing by tomorrow.

The partially treated wastewater is overflowing into the Kurapete Stream which flows into the Manganui River, which itself flows into the Waitara River.

‘‘We regret and apologise for this incident. The majority of the overflow is rainwater, but we urge caution and we’ve alerted the Taranaki Regional Council and the Taranaki District Health Board as regulators, and been in touch with iwi and hapu¯ and other recreational users,’’ Hall said.

Warning signs have been erected advising against swimming in the Manganui River. Hall said the incident was caused by heavy rainfall but added that the ‘‘overflow is impacted by limitations to the region’s wastewater infrastructure’’.

Councillors are set to deliberate today on whether to invest $248 million over the next decade in upgrading the district’s water network. They will also be deciding whether to spend $18m installing residential water meters in the district in a bid to both reduce water use and spending on pipe upgrades.