Monday 23 September: 7pm
The emergency fix on the wastewater pipe is now complete. The team has wrapped the pipe to prevent further leaks.
Although the physical work is finished, Council will keep testing the water daily over the next few days until it’s confirmed safe. So until then avoid swimming or gathering kaimoana in the awa, from the old i-SITE building to the Whakatāne Heads (warning signs are in place).
Tēnā koutou i ngākaunui mai / Thanks for your understanding with this.
Monday 23 September: 11.30am
Our Three Waters team has cleared the root structure that was growing inside the pipeline, allowing wastewater to flow freely again.
We're currently using a sucker truck and camera to inspect the extent of the damage inside the pipe. Once we've assessed the situation, we'll bring in a team to line the interior of the pipe, which runs approximately 80m from the Seaview Road manhole to the bottom of Waiewe Street manhole.
We're also working on wrapping the outside of the pipe to prevent any leaks if it fills up again.
Our daily inspections and water sampling will continue until we receive clear results.
Reminder: Please avoid swimming or gathering kaimoana from the awa - from the old i-SITE building to the Whakatāne Heads (warning signs are in place) - until water quality results confirm it's safe.
Sunday 22 September: 7.30pm
Our team has been working hard to clear the blockage in our wastewater pipe, but with a potential pipe issue and roots from surrounding trees, it couldn’t be cleared safely. Steep banks, rocky terrain, an old pipe, and nighttime approaching made it too challenging to fix. The team will be back early in the morning to continue their investigation and put a plan of attack in place.
In the meantime, everything in the below update stands - avoid swimming or gathering kaimoana from the awa—from the old i-SITE building to the Whakatāne Heads—until water quality results confirm it’s safe. Signs are currently being installed, and samples are continuing to be collected.
Sunday 22 September: 5pm
A wastewater discharge has been identified this evening, flowing into Wairere Stream. Council’s Three Waters team is on-site, working to stop the overflow, and investigations are underway to find the source.
Water samples are being collected from the Whakatāne River and both upstream and downstream of the outflow.
Please avoid swimming or gathering kaimoana from the awa -from the old i-SITE building to the Whakatāne Heads - until water quality results confirm it’s safe.