Wellington’s mayor has taken a swim to prove to people it’s safe to get back in the water at the city’s South Coast beaches following a catastrophic sewage spill. 

Mayor Andrew Little donned board shorts and a rash shirt and dove into the water at Lyall Bay this afternoon, as part of an announcement that Wellington City Council was welcomed locals back to the beaches. 

The announcement comes three weeks after a catastrophic sewage plant failure at the city’s Moa Point Wastewater Treatment Plant, the cause of which remains unknown. 

Little has today announced the guidance is being relaxed from midday with water sampling showing safe levels of bacteria from the sewage that continues to be pumped out to sea. 

Little first signalled the change in an interview with the Herald on Monday, saying “the risk looks pretty low”. 

Asked by the Herald during that interview if he personally would be comfortable swimming off the South Coast, Little said yes. 

He has today made good on that promise, taking a dip in an effort to show his confidence in the water’s safety. The Herald will check in on the mayor’s health in the coming days. 

Little was interviewed at Lyall Bay beach today after taking a dip to prove the water is safe. 

Wellington Water said it can “now confidently revise the public health advice”. 

“Residents and businesses around the South Coast have endured significant disruption and disconnection from the coast,” Little said today. 

He said with three weeks of water sampling showing negligible risks, locals could now make their own calls on whether to swim, but said it was important to check the LAWA ‘Can I Swim Here?’ website to get the latest information on the conditions. 

“We have to be realistic and practical about what we’re asking people to do, conditions can change rapidly. 

“I do want to be clear . . . a risk remains, but monitoring results so far show that it is low and it is now up to people to decide how they respond to the current information.” 

People can now access the beaches and swim near the shore in the area from Ōwhiro Bay to Breaker Bay. 

Tarakena Bay remains a no-go area due to its proximity to the short outfall pipe. 

Activities further out from the shore like surfing and diving are deemed higher risk due to their proximity to discharge, and should be done at people’s own risk, Wellington Water said. 

Raw sewage could be seen in the water from the Moa Point Wastewater Treatment Plant at Tarakena Bay, Wellington on February 4. Photo / Mark Mitchell 

The development comes despite earlier suggestions the coastline could be off-limits for months. 

Faeces and toilet paper could be earlier seen in the surf off Tarakena Bay when the facility’s short outfall pipe was discharging sewage, but since the long outfall pipe has been back in action, a majority of readings for areas including the popular Lyall Bay, Island Bay, and Ōwhiro Bay beaches have been within safe swimming levels. 

The Moa Point plant remains inoperable, with the city’s wastewater being discharged from the 1.8km long outfall pipe near the mouth of Lyall Bay without treatment. 

In the days after the plant failed, Wellington Water chief executive Pat Dougherty said it could take months before it was safe to swim in the area. 

A map made by Calypso Science showed how the plume of contaminated water was moving around the area. 

The Moa Point Plant failure is now at the centre of a Government inquiry, which is soon to kick off to investigate what caused the facility to fail. 

Ethan Manera is a Wellington-based journalist covering Wellington issues, local politics and business in the capital. He can be emailed at [email protected].