Moa Point Wastewater Treatment Plant update

Karl Frost from Strathmore Park Residents Association (Inc)

We hope to have a Wellington Water representative at our meeting on Wednesday evening to provide the latest information. In the meantime, here's this morning's update from Wellington Water about the incident:

UPDATE 11 11:20 - 08/02/2026: WASTEWATER TREAMENT PLANT - Moa Point – Discharge
Response: Level 5
Incident Controller: Sam Lister/Garry Butler
Operations Lead: Dave Neru (Veolia)
Technical Advisor: Steve Hutchison /Amy Smith
Environmental Lead: Jude Chittock
Stakeholder Comms: Glenis Bruin
External Comms: Stephanie Rodgers / Helen Jansen
Iwi Liaison: Talia Rei

Kia Ora Koutou

Moa Point Treatment Plant is continuing to discharge screened wastewater through the long outfall pipe. This means solid items like wipes and sanitary products have been removed, but it has not gone through biological or ultraviolet treatment.
No wastewater has been discharged through the short outfall pipe since 9pm Thursday 5 February. However, it could be required at short notice if there is increased flow into the plant.
The plant clarifiers have been drained down overnight, with most biological material being removed. There is an increased risk of odour in the vicinity of the plant, depending on weather conditions. We are proactively exploring options to minimize odour, including flushing water through the clarifiers, and using odour neutralising sprays.
We have people on the ground doing regular clean-ups of the shoreline and advising the public of the warning, including attendees at the Island Bay Festival.
We are continuing to do daily water sampling to assess impacts on the southern beaches. Those results will be released later this morning.
We are working with public health authorities to inform their guidance for south coast beaches.
For more information, please view the FAQs on our website.
(refer link below)