Pipe repair at Midway considered emergency work

Emergency works will begin on October 2 to repair a section of broken outfall pipe at Midway Beach.Picture by Liam Clayton

Urgent repairs to a wastewater outfall pipe at Midway Beach are being treated as emergency works following bad weather in the region.

But one concerned resident with a background in environmental advocacy believes the issue could have been avoided through routine maintenance.

On Monday, a section of Midway Beach will be closed to the public while treated wastewater is discharged into shallow water.

The Gisborne District Council says the repairs follow Cyclone Gabrielle  and are the result of both silt build-up around the discharge ports of the pipe and excess pressure from high pumping rates.

A crack in the Y section joint of the existing fibreglass pipe means eight metres of pipe will be replaced.

Council acting director community lifelines Dave Hadfield said capacity for the pipeline had been compromised, meaning overflow valves in the river were needing to be opened at lower than normal flows.

Reinstatement was critical, he said.

“The monitoring and compliance team has been informed of the issue, the implications of repair, and that the work is being done under section 330 of the Resource Management Act — which is the emergency works provision, and in this case, applies to Cyclone Gabrielle.”

The council would undertake water quality testing in receiving waters before, during and after the discharge, Hadfield said.

The wastewater will pass through filter screens, a biological trickle filter, clarifier, tertiary filter and undergo ultraviolet disinfection.

Resident and environmental advocate John Kape has raised concerns about the work, saying it is outside existing consent conditions and “questionable” as to whether it’s emergency work.

He is also disappointed sewage is needing to be discharged on to one of the region’s most well-used beaches.

“It’s an old pipe, and maintenance should address this work,” Mr Kape said.

The council advises people to stay away from the water for five days after the discharge has stopped.

That includes swimming, surfing and gathering shellfish.

Work was due to begin this week on the pipe, but was postponed due to forecast rain.

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