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SUPPLIED / Wellington Water
Sewage flowed onto the street in central Wellington after a sewage pipe burst.
Three sections of the highway in Wellington CBD will remain closed during the Tuesday morning rush hour after a nearby pipeline burst.
Sewage flowed onto the road after the pipe broke at the intersection of Victoria and Mercer streets Monday afternoon. The repair of the pipeline was expected to take two to three days as it was close to other critical utilities.
Eight traffic management sites across the city would remain operational Tuesday. Mercer St would be closed, traffic on Victoria St will not be able to pass the Harris St intersection and traffic will be prevented from turning from Jervois Quay into Harris St. Wellington Water warned commuters to expect delays during morning rush hours.
Meanwhile, residents of Te Aro and central Wellington are being asked to flush their toilets only when “essential,” and travelers are being warned of possible traffic delays, after a sewage pipe burst in the Wellington CBD.
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A Wellington Water spokeswoman said that although none of the sewage was believed to flow into the harbor, people should avoid swimming in Whairepo Lagoon as a precaution.
Wellington Water personnel, along with contractors, were cutting asphalt and digging a trench to repair a 300mm cast iron main near Pump Station 7 on Monday afternoon, the company said in a statement.
At 7.40pm, the team was making good progress in managing the risk of sewage overflow with the pump trucks now diverting flow to the Michael Fowler Street storage tank.
However, to avoid an overflow in the port, people living on various streets were urged to minimize the use of sewage, “essential flushing of toilets only please and minimal use of internal drains.”
WELLINGTON WATER / Supplied
Wellington Water is asking people who live on streets marked in orange to avoid flushing unless essential after a sewer pipe burst in Wellington CBD.
Staff would monitor all nearby overflow points to confirm whether sewage had been spilled into the port and to give advance warning of any potential overflow.
The company had reported the leak to the Greater Wellington Regional Council and the Regional Public Health Department.
Ross Giblin
Workers repair a broken pipe on Wellington’s Willis St in 2019 (file photo)
He also issued an apology on Twitter for any inconvenience caused by the pipeline explosion.
It was not the first time that a broken pipe caused traffic problems in Wellington.
The region is known for its leaky pipes, a third of which is estimated to be in poor or very poor condition.
Almost exactly one year ago, a water pipe that broke in Wellington’s CBD blocked a bus lane.
