Locals in Lower Hutt are furious at Hutt City Council’s decision to dump treated sewage into the Waiwhetū stream.
Yesterday, nearly 120mm of rain fell, causing widespread flooding in the Lower Hutt area, adding pressure on the wastewater network.
In a Facebook post, the council said: “We have had to undertake an emergency discharge of sewage from the Hinemoa Street Pumping Station into the Waiwhetu Stream.”
But that set off anger and frustration among locals.
Kaanihi Butler-Hare (Taranaki Whānui), who works at Te Rūnanga nui o Te Ātiawa, says culturally this is wrong.
“Think of it like them coming on to our marae, and excrement is fed to them for lunch. That is how it is. What is excreted from humans is sacred.
That's how I feel, angered,” he said
10 to 20 spills a year
But Hutt City Council divisional manager parks and gardens Bruce Hodgins said this was not a new practice and the overflow of treated wastewater from the Seaview plant occurred between 10 and 20 times a year.
In a statement, Water Wellington said there were two overflows of heavily diluted wastewater into the Waiwhetū Stream and it was not uncommon for stormwater and wastewater to overflow into the stream
Māori Party co-leader Debbie Ngārewa Packer says she is frustrated these practices still continue across the country.
“It's shocking to have this still happening and the reality is that they continuously prove that they're not good guardians of our wai. Whakahokia ā tātou tāonga ki o tātou whānau, hapū, iwi” she said.
Greens co-leader Mārama Davidson echoed these sentiments and offered her support to the locals. “The water has mana, and so do those whānau and communities.”
Bring the mana back
But for descendants of Te Ātiawa - it's time for total management of the waterways to return to the iwi.
“Ka tika me hoki mai taua mana. Ko tā te rūnanga e whakapiki i ngā mātauranga ā ngā rangatahi kātahi ka rau atu ngā rangatahi i roto i ērā tūranga,” Kaanihi Butler-Hare said.
“The mana should absolutely come back. The rūnanga at the moment is upskilling the youth with a goal of putting them in these positions.”
Water Wellington will continue to monitor the water - and is still awaiting the results of the water samples that were collected yesterday.