People should not take shellfish from the Waimea Inlet following a weekend sewage spill in Richmond.
Due to a blockage, sewage overflowed from our system in Oxford Street on Sunday and entered the stormwater system, which flowed into the Waimea Inlet from an outlet in Beach Road.
People are advised not to take shellfish from the estuary for at least the next three weeks – until Monday 11 March.
However, people should be cautious about ever taking shellfish from the Waimea Inlet, particularly near urban areas, due to the risk from contaminated run-off from populated areas.
There are many potential sources of contamination from human activities and from animals within urban areas.
During periods of heavy rain, contaminants like animal droppings and run off from roads are washed into rivers, streams and stormwater systems and from there into the sea.
Where an urban area is located at the head of a bay or within an estuary, contaminants released to the coast do not dilute as quickly and tend to stay in shore for longer periods. This leads to a greater likelihood of the contaminants being picked up and accumulated by shellfish in the area.