Published 18/05/2026
Wellington Water crews responding to a wastewater leak in Titahi Bay
Crews are on site attending to a leak from a wastewater pipe on Titahi Bay Road. The leak, now fully contained at the site, was previously discharging into the Porirua harbour through the stormwater system.
Signage have been placed at the outlet into the harbour. Water quality testing will be undertaken for at least 72 hours or until results return clear.
We recommend the public to follow LAWA’s advice on whether beaches are suitable for swimming.
We take all wastewater incidents very seriously and are diverting all necessary resources to complete the full repair urgently.
As part of the repair, we are:
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Excavating down to the wastewater pipe to get access to the fault which is located at the bottom of the pipe.
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Developing plans to divert wastewater flows away from the affected pipe to enable repairs while preventing potential overflows during the shutdown.
While the repair is underway, wastewater will be diverted to the new Porirua Central Wastewater Storage Facility during peak flow time. The tank at the facility can store up to seven million litres of wastewater, which can then be gradually released back into the network for treatment when the repair is completed.
This is the first time the new facility has been used operationally, demonstrating immediate benefits to the region by enabling repairs without further wastewater discharges into the environment.
We’ve advised councils and mana whenua iwi and will keep them updated on the situation. Public health and environmental monitoring agencies are also being kept up to speed on the issue.
We’ll keep the community informed via our website and social media channels.
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.