Raw sewage contaminates Rotorua school

Glenholme School said tonight it had "fallen victim to the torrential rain and continuous bad weather". Photo/File

Parts of Glenholme School in Rotorua have been contaminated by raw sewage after storm water drains on the surrounding streets overflowed.

In a post on its Facebook page tonight, the school said it had "fallen victim to the torrential rain and continuous bad weather".

It said council storm water drains on Ranolf St and Malfroy Rd had overflowed and "caused havoc" at the school.

"Raw sewage from surrounding homes has contaminated some of the school.

"The school entrance, the hall and some [of] the field has been hugely impacted by this and a massive clean up will be taking place tomorrow. The Council and Ministry of Education will be involved in this process."

It said the school would be open tomorrow but parents and whanau would be directed well away from the contaminated areas until it was safe and healthy to resume access to these areas again.

"Please be mindful that the site is not aesthetically pleasing but it is our intention to have this back to normal for our tamariki as soon as possible.

"Before and After School Care programmes will be making alternative plans until further notice. [Please] contact Maryanne."

A severe weather watch remains in place for Rotorua and the Bay of Plenty with MetService predicting heavy rain to ease tomorrow morning.

"An active front over the North Island should move away to the east overnight tonight.

"Until 3am Tuesday morning, Bay of Plenty including Rotorua may see short duration warning amounts of rain for example, 50mm in 6 hours."