Pipe bursts spewing large pool of brown wastewater spews into Wellington’s harbour

Wellington Water staff inspecting a wastewater overflow erupting from a footpath on Featherston St. Photo / Mark Mitchell

A large pool of brown wastewater has spewed onto the street near Parliament and into Wellington’s harbour.

Wellington Water said the overflow was due to a burst pipe that carries wastewater under pressure.

“The team have isolated the pipe that’s caused the overflow and diverted the wastewater through to another part of the network. Wastewater discharges into the harbour stopped at midday.

“Work to clean up the initial overflow is now complete.”

Excavation work has started to expose the damaged pipe and traffic management will remain in place overnight until it is repaired.

Initial water samples have been taken and preliminary results will be available tomorrow morning. Sampling will continue for the next 72 hours.

“Warning signs are at five sites along the waterfront between Te Ara Moana and the Crab Shack.

“We’ll provide further updates as this work progresses.”

Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.