Investigation into sewer spill underway

Taupo District Council has launched an investigation into a sewer blockage that resulted in a sewage spill into Lake Taupo on Friday night.

Infrastructure manager Denis Lewis said the alarm was raised shortly after 5pm when a manhole was seen to be bubbling near the intersection of Pataka Road and Lake Terrace. It was thought a ball of loose root matter had blocked the pipe, causing the sewage to back up and overflow. It was estimated around one to two cubic metres of sewage entered the water.

Signage was erected in the affected area over the weekend while testing took place, in accordance with protocols accepted by the Public Health Unit and Waikato Regional Council. They were removed this morning once the all clear had been received.

"We were fortunate in that our contractors were able to respond quickly and sucker trucks were used to remove a good quantity of sewage almost immediately," he said. "What is unfortunate is that sewage entered the lake at all. We will be putting a camera down the pipe over the next couple of days so we can get a better understanding of what caused the blockage and if anything needs to be done to prevent it from happening again."

Protecting the lake was something the council took very seriously and hundreds of thousands of dollars had been spent and are planned to be spent cleaning sewer pipes around the district in an effort to ensure sewer spills into the lake did not occur. The cleaning of sewer pipes around the district is an ongoing process.

There were also some blockages the council could not prevent. "Fat, grease and wipes also cause problems when they are not disposed of the correct way," Mr Lewis said. "Then there are the number of foreign objects that end up in the wastewater system."

Mr Lewis said once there was even a pair of curtains shoved down a manhole that caused the system to back up. "We can't plan for that and it is not okay. We need everyone to do the right thing to help us protect the lake. We are all responsible."