A nauseating sewage overflow has highlighted wider wastewater issues in Auckland.

Council member Desley Simpson was called to Meadowbank yesterday by locals who told her raw sewage was coming out of a pipe into Purewa Creek.

She said she was a bit dubious, thinking there shouldn't be sewage coming out in the middle of a large city.

But when she arrived, it was stomach-churning to see tampons, clumps of wet wipes and what looked like excrement.

Simpson said it was part of a larger problem in Auckland that included beach and water quality.

Simpson said Watercare came within half an hour and put cameras in the pipes and would be going back today to clean the mess up, and identify the problem.

She said it could be a blockage or a larger problem - which is being seen in older suburbs of Auckland - where below-ground infrastructure isn't separated.