Wellington iwi Ngāti Toa Rangatira has imposed a rāhui on the Porirua Stream following the rupture of a wastewater pipe.
Wellington Water say their crews responded to the broken wastewater pipe in Cannons Creek, Porirua on Sunday. The pipe has caused untreated sewage to enter the Kenepuru Stream in Bothamley Park, which flows into Porirua Stream at Mepham Place.
Ngāti Toa Rangatira kaumātua Taku Pārai says it’s a way for Ngāti Toa Rangatira to not only look after the environment but also the people who may be affected by the burst pipe.
A spokesperson for Wellington Water says they are “working as fast as possible towards a robust and long-term solution to minimise the immediate environmental impact on the Kenepuru stream and any further residual impact downstream. As of now, pumps and hoses are fully set up onsite.”
Rāhui a protection mechanism
“The rāhui has been placed, a practice that our ancestors instituted to restore life to our rivers, lands, and moana.
“When a breach has happened like this, or anything else, we need to ensure our processes are adhered to. They are there to look after the taiao. We have a role to play, first and foremost.”
“With the damage, raw sewage is spilling out via a small stream and flowing to our big river, Te Awarua o Porirua.”
The location of the rupture makes access difficult, and health and safety concerns make a repair complex.
Porirua deputy mayor Kylie Wihapi admits it won’t be an easy fix.
“It’s probably going to take a couple of weeks, and it’s probably not going to be a very fast fix. So what they have done is set up a couple of traps, to trap the wastewater and at the moment it’s not going into the harbour.”
Wihapi says the council supports the stand by Ngāti Toa Rangatira.
“We completely support Ngāti Toa and the rāhui and we hope that our community respects that.”
Iwi blames crumbling infrastructure but who pays?
The burst pipe is part of an old and fragile infrastructure system that has suffered from a lack of investment by the local council over decades.
That’s left the Porirua City Council with an enormous water infrastructure bill, with Wihapi signalling a massive 17.5% rates rise that will hit the pockets of local ratepayers.
“The council has committed to over a billion dollars worth of spending for our three waters and at the moment we are going through our long-term plan process, where we will be spending over 60% of our rates alone on water.”
Pārai says with developments going on all over New Zealand, local councils should be engaging with iwi.
“Where there is growth, there is a need to upsize all the infrastructure to meet that demand. In the meantime, what’s carrying that load is the old network and what we know is the old network throughout the motu is not up to standard.”
“From a Ngāti Toa perspective, we have been talking about this for years.”
Wellington Water has acknowledged the impact on the environment and says “Managing our wastewater networks to improve water quality and to give effect to Te Mana o te Wai remains at the forefront of our work.”
A geotechnical report is underway and Wellington Water expect to release their findings around what lead to the incident on Friday.