Sewage discharging into Wellington coastal waters, again

Raw sewage is being discharged close to the shoreline in southern Wellington following heavy rainfall.

The Moa Point Wastewater Treatment Plant has been pumping out unscreened and untreated wastewater into Tarakena Bay since 8am on Thursday.

The plant has been pumping untreated but screened waste about one kilometre into Cook Strait since its catastrophic failure in February, but that system gets overloaded when it rains heavily.

People are being urged to stay out of the water between Ōwhiro Bay and Breaker Bay for the next 48 hours.

It was previously revealed it would cost $25 billion over the next three decades to fix Wellington's failing water infrastructure, deliver a safe water supply and keep harbours and beaches clean, the new water entity Tiaki Wai said.