#Moa Point

EXPLAINER: What went wrong at Moa Point, who’s responsible and how do we fix the structural issues? Critical public infrastructure should be in public ownership and operation. Public meeting coming very soon. Details to be announced. In the meantime: ➡️Don’t go the South Coast* beaches ➡️Please please please don’t flush wet wipes or pads down the toilet 😭 Credit to the various news sources for footage and articles including The Post and NZHerald.

Incredible footage of orca up close and personal at Moa Point while they chase a feed of Stingray 💛 📷 Donovan Hamilton

Experts say it is safe to swim at beaches in the capital's harbour, but Wellingtonians are taking a cautious approach. Nearly a week ago, the Moa Point Treatment Plant started pumping raw sewage into the ocean off the south coast after it completely failed early Wednesday morning. The following Thursday evening, the raw sewage was diverted from being dumped near the coast to a 1.8km outfall pipe. There was no evidence to suggest sewage was reaching the city's inner harbour, but at Oriental Bay most people RNZ spoke to thought locals were being careful around the water. Calypso Science, a New Plymouth based oceanography research company with a focus on coastal currents, has created a model of Wellington's south coast after the sewage plant failure. Read full coverage via link in bio. Footage: Calypso Science

A “catastrophic failure” at a Wellington sewage plant happened while remedial work was being carried out, Wellington Water says. The Moa Point Wastewater Treatment Plant yesterday suffered a complete failure, causing raw sewage to flood the plant and flow freely out into the capital’s South Coast beaches. When asked how bad the failure was on a scale of 1 to 100, Chief executive Pat Dougherty gave it a 90. Wellington Mayor Andrew Little joined Ryan Bridge TODAY to discuss the fallout, urging people to stay away from the water. 🔗: Read the full story via the link in our bio.

Your view of the day: Lyall Bay from the Moa Point gun emplacements

Seeing Lyall Bay empty on a Sunday afternoon in the middle of summer isn’t normal, and it’s not just a quiet day at the beach. Recently, the Moa Point wastewater treatment plant flooded and failed, forcing tens of millions of litres of untreated sewage into Wellington’s south coast waters instead of being properly treated and discharged offshore. With the outfall compromised, wastewater has been released much closer to shore. That’s why beaches from Tarakena Bay through Lyall Bay and along the south coast are currently closed. This isn’t just about inconvenience. Untreated wastewater introduces bacteria, viruses and excess nutrients into the ocean, disrupting coastal ecosystems and making kai moana unsafe to gather. The impacts don’t stop at the waterline. This morning there were dolphins in Lyall Bay, moving through water that’s currently unsafe for people. While we might complain about not being able to swim or access the beach, marine life doesn’t get that choice. This is their home and our waste ends up in it. A rāhui has been placed along the coast by local iwi. A rāhui is a customary Māori protection measure, a temporary restriction that protects people, marine life and coastal environments, and allows time for recovery after events like this. So when the beach looks like this, quiet and empty on a summer Sunday, it isn’t peaceful. It’s a reminder of how closely human systems and the natural world are connected. #WellingtonNZ #NewZealand #Environment #News #Wastage

Here's the latest on the recovery work at Moa Point 💧

The Secret Hideout for Wellington for flight viewing! ✨ 📍 Strathmore Park Bunker, Moa Point @wellingtonnz #flight #wellyeats #wellingtonnz #moapoint #nzeats

70 million litres of sewage are flowing into the ocean every day after a catastrophic failure at Wellington's Moa Point water treatment plant. A rāhui remains in place from Ōwhiro Bay to Breaker Bay, with people urged to stay off Wellington’s south coast beaches, avoid contact with seawater or spray, not to collect or eat kaimoana and to keep dogs away from the shoreline. Made with the support of @nz_on_air. #wellington #sewage #nzpol

Pls be careful when sitting on the edge of the bunker as the winds are brutal 😭🫶🏽💨 📍 Moa Point Follow for more 🤍 🏷️: #nz #newzealand #sunset #wellington #travel #aotearoa #reels #explorepage #explore #fyp #foryoupage #ａｅｓｔｈｅｔｉｃ #bandung #indonesia #followme

💧💩 Friday 6th update on the Moa Point Wastewater Treatment Plant: Wellington Water have released the results of samples testing that took place on Wednesday evening between 4-7pm. Because of the lag and extra 36-48 hours of discharge, they do not reflect current conditions. 3 sites are contaminated, 15 in the clear. That means advice remains unchanged for now: 1️⃣ Stay out of the water 2️⃣ Keep pets and kids away 3️⃣ Do not eat kai moana In positive news, overnight WW managed to get sewage going out the long 1.8km outfall into Cook Strait now at a rate of 900 litres per second. That's enough for current conditions but heavy usage or rains will overwhelm it and discharge will resume in the 5m short outfall. WW are working on getting rate up to 1500 litres per second to build up more redundancy. The work on cleaning out the plant continues. The sooner engineers can get in there and assess, the sooner we can have answers on how long this environmental disaster will continue. #wellington #wcc #moapoint #sewage #update