Wellington sewage could enter the harbour for days - stay out and limit water use

Friday, 20 December 2019

Wellington City Council says Willis St would be shut between Vivian St and Manners St between 3pm and midnight while Ghuznee Street would also be closed between The Terrace and Victoria St.

Work is frantically being done to fix a sewage spill which has caused heavy traffic, disrupted summer swimming plans and caused people to limit water use.

Two central city Wellington streets were forced closed while work is carried out to stop sewage from overflowing into Wellington Harbour, causing traffic congestion on Friday afternoon.

Wellington City Council said Willis St would be shut between Vivian St and Manners St between 3pm and midnight while Ghuznee St would also be closed between The Terrace and Victoria St.

'The closures are required so Wellington Water can install a temporary wastewater diversion at the intersection of Willis and Ghuznee streets,' the council said.

Contractor Jono Elmer works on Ghuznee St on Friday as sewage flowed into the harbour.

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A collapsed wastewater tunnel closed Ghuznee Street as authorities undertook emergency roadworks.

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'This requires urgent trenching work and installation of temporary pumps at the intersection.'

Wellington City Council spokesman Richard MacLean said the priority was to divert the sewage flow and while council hoped this could be fixed on Friday evening, it could not guarantee anything.

The council has advised people to avoid the Willis St area, but local traffic would still be able to access properties in the area.

Buses heading into the central city from Brooklyn would be diverted along Vivian St and Taranaki St.

Traffic is heavy in Wellington City after two popular streets were forced to close.

A statement from Metlink said due to emergency roadworks on Ghuznee Street in the Wellington CBD, Route 18e and Route 21 services would be diverted until further notice.

A collapsed wastewater tunnel under Dixon St in the Wellington CBD caused sewage to flow into the harbour earlier on Friday.

Wellington Water said one of the most likely places of discharge would be near the dive platform – one of the city's most popular swimming spots.

The complex problem has closed Ghuznee St as authorities undertake emergency roadworks, and Wellington Water chief executive Colin Crampton said fixing the issue could take days.

'It's the time of year when everybody wants to be swimming and using the harbour … but we won't be able to access it for a few days, and we're really sorry about that.'

Sewage from the entire business zone between Ghuznee St, Featherston St, Vivian St and Tory St could be running in to the sea, he said.

The council has advised people to avoid the Willis St area, but local traffic would still be able to access properties in the area.

Sewage was overflowing into the harbour at Frank Kitts Park, and the Taranaki dive platform is also expected to overflow.

Wellington Water has urged people to stay out of the water between the Port and Point Jerningham.

Crampton said they were also urging residents and businesses in the affected area to use less water.

'If people can reduce in any way possible that would be a massive help to us.'

Don't swim, don't use water - wastewater is going to enter Wellington Harbour today.

The collapsed tunnel, beneath Willis and Dixon Streets in the CBD, has been shut down and is being prepared for repair.

'We're in the process of setting up overland pipes to take that water out.'

The 1930s tunnel was already showing signs of wear, Crampton said.

'We had signals from residents that it was starting to smell in that area.'

Wellington Water were in the process of fixing it when it partially collapsed, and then completely collapsed on Friday morning, he said.

'We hadn't established the extent of the damage at that stage.'

Crampton said the entire network of other junction points would need to be checked, in case they'd deteriorated to the same extent.

Ghuznee St has been closed between Willis and Victoria Streets, and people are being asked to avoid the area if possible and use alternate routes.

Wastewater and sewage are the same thing, a mixture of water and human waste, sent from homes and businesses to a wastewater treatment plant.

It's not the first time raw sewage has entered the harbour – in August effluent was being pushed out of stormwater pipes located under Foxglove restaurant on Queen's Wharf until contractors were able to clear a blocked wastewater pipe.

In June, Wellingtonians were told to stay out of the water after a suspected sewage leak around and near Shed 5, between Frank Kitts Park and the TSB Arena.

Crampton said Friday's collapse would cause a much greater amount of sewage to leak in to the harbour compared to the events in June and August.

'We're talking about the area between Vivian and Featherston, and we're talking about all the businesses in that area.'