Wanganui's waste is being pumped out to sea.
Mayor Annette Main said bypassing the wastewater treatment plant and sending wastewater to sea was "the next major step in our project to build a new, fully-functioning wastewater treatment plant."
"Since November we've been removing sludge from the ponds and have made good progress by working 24 hours, six days a week.
"This means that we can fully empty the main pond earlier than originally planned.
"To complete the desludging process, we will need to pump the city's wastewater to sea through the 1.7km long ocean outfall. The waste will be screened first at Beach Rd pumping station and will then bypass the treatment plant and go straight to the outfall.