Photo: Unsplash / Erik Witsoe
About 50 cubic metres of sewage has flowed into the Waimea Estuary after a overflow at a pump station in the Tasman District overnight.
Sudden heavy rain on Sunday resulted in raw sewage overflows at two wastewater pump stations in Sunview Heights and Beach Road.
The Tasman District Council said the Beach Road overflow lasted about 40 minutes and was estimated at up to 50 cubic metres, while the Sunview Heights overflow was less than six cubic metres over an hour and a half.
People were advised to avoid direct contact with the Waimea Estuary and the Hill Street South, including downstream drains, for the next 48 hours as a precaution.
The overflows were relatively minor and came after sudden, intense and relatively short lived rain, which was largely confined to the Richmond area, the council said.
Last week, several pump stations overflowed in Golden Bay during heavy rain.
Overflows occurred at the Motupipi and Hiawatha Lane pump stations, with others under pressure.
In Collingwood, partially treated wastewater was discharged in to the estuary in the final stage of treatment due to a failure in the UV treatment system.
The council said the water was highly treated, so the advisory was made as part of a general public health warning, but people were asked to avoid contact with creeks and tidal water in the area for at least a day after the rain had finished.
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