Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Wellington’s mayor can’t say if ratepayers in the broader Wellington region will foot the bill for the failure of the Moa Point wastewater plant.
It could be months before the plant returns to full operation after nearly 80 percent of its equipment was damaged by a backflow of sewage.
Wellington Mayor Andrew Little met with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Local Government and Energy Minister Simon Watts on Monday night. Little said they both agree an independent inquiry into the failure of the Moa Point wastewater treatment plant was needed as soon as possible.
Little told Morning Report that he agreed any review needed to be independent.
Wellington Water manages the region’s water infrastructure on behalf of Wellington, Hutt Valley, Porirua and South Wairarapa district councils.
Tiaki Wai Metro Water, the new water services entity for the Wellington metropolitan area, is set to take over from Wellington Water on 1 July 2026. Little said the new entity won’t pick up liability if Wellington Water is found culpable.
Little said the Moa Point plant is a Wellington City Council asset. He said it will deal with who pays once the plan to get the plant back online is in place.
In the meantime, the council would foot the bill.
“If there’s been a breach of obligations, a breach of duties, then that, to me, has to be sorted out between the parties. In the meantime, the critical thing is to get the [plant] recovered, fixed and back operating. The Wellington City Council will no doubt underwrite that cost,” Little said.
“We want to know what went wrong, where the responsibility lies and if we can recover any costs, then obviously we want to do that.”
Untreated water is leaking onto the capital’s south coast beaches due to the Moa Point Treatment Plant flooding.
Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Wellington Water chief executive Pat Dougherty told Morning Report on Monday there’s been under-investment over a long period at the Moa Point plant and backs an investigation.
Dougherty said there have been a couple of incidents over the last few months that he suspects may have been early indicators. He also backs an independent investigation into the failure.
“I worry that there may have been some early warning signs that there were troubles with the discharge and we missed those. But everything needs to be on the table,” he said.
Little said he wasn’t aware that early signs may have been missed, adding that was “concerning” to hear.
Health New Zealand said it was working with councils, Wellington Water and technical experts to review Moa Point’s risk to the public.
On Monday’s Morning Report, Wellington Water chief executive Pat Dougherty said it could be months before it was safe to swim on south coast beaches.
Health New Zealand said at the moment, it was strongly advising that people avoid contact with water at beaches on the south coast and not collect food from them.
It said water testing results were one component in assessing the overall public health risk.
The agency said it was working with authorities to regularly review the risk.
Dolphins have been spotted along the south coast in recent days.
David Lundquist, Department of Conservation senior science advisor in the marine species team, said they were aware of reports of dolphins in the area.
“It is common for dolphins to be seen off the Wellington coast over summer, so their presence there is not unexpected.
“At this stage, there is no sign the dolphins are in distress due to the spill.”
He asked the public to call DOC if they saw any unusual activity or dolphins in distress.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.