Published 4/02/2026
Wellington Water responding to untreated wastewater discharge at Moa Point Wastewater Treatment Plant
Wellington Water is responding to a significant incident at the Moa Point Wastewater Treatment Plant which has resulted in untreated wastewater discharging into Tarakena Bay on the south coast.
The discharge, caused by equipment failure, started at 1am not 3am as previously reported and is still occurring. Wellington Water has set up an emergency management team and working at pace to stabilise the situation.
A duty manager investigated the plant following an alarm activation and FENZ alert.
The equipment failure has led to the plant needing to be shut down. All power at the plant has been shut off and staff have been evacuated from the site.
“Multiple floors and key areas of the plant have been inundated. This is a serious situation and we anticipate the plant will be shut down for an extended period of time,” says Wellington Water Chief Executive Pat Dougherty.
“Our immediate focus is restoring power to the plant, resuming service, and diverting wastewater to the long outfall pipe, which will improve dispersion and reduce impact on the coastline.
“We strongly advise the community to stay away from the south coast beaches. There is currently untreated wastewater being discharged into the water and this may occur for some time.
“Public health signage is being erected at Lyall Bay and the south coast beaches. We’re asking the public not to enter the water or collect kai moana. A rāhui will be placed over the affected area.
“We will have boots on the ground today, with our customer teams distributing information about public health and advice.
“An environmental team will be undertaking water quality testing. More information will be provided at lunchtime today. This is a complex incident and all necessary resources are being utilised.
“Wellington Water acknowledges that this is unacceptable and we apologise to the public, local
community and our iwi partners for the public health and environmental impact caused,” says Pat.
Editor notes
Wellington Water is owned and fully funded by Wellington City Council, Hutt City Council, Porirua City Council, and Upper Hutt City Council, Greater Wellington Regional Council and South Wairarapa District Council. All six councils are equal shareholders.
Our councils own the water infrastructure in the region, and they task us to manage the infrastructure and deliver water services to our communities.
Wellington Water is governed by a Board of Directors. The Board and our organisation receive overall leadership and direction from the Wellington Water Committee, which are also responsible for appointing members to the Board.
The Wellington Water Committee is made up of representatives from our council owners and mana whenua.