Slash on Napier Beach's coast line on 20 February, after Cyclone Gabrielle swept through the area. Photo: RNZ / Soumya Bhamidipati
Raw sewage will be pumped out to sea in Napier for the foreseeable future as the city recovers from Cyclone Gabrielle.
Napier City Council (NCC) city services executive director Lance Titter said the council's wastewater pump stations were working but the waste was not being treated.
The sewer network was operating as it was designed to do in an emergency, Titter said.
"By continuing pumping out to sea, we are preventing raw sewerage coming up from manholes into city streets," he said.
Raw sewerage would continue to be pumped out to sea for some days or weeks yet.
"Exact timeframes are not certain at this stage, but we are likely to get partial treatment of raw sewage underway in the coming days."
He warned people should not eat kai moana and should stay out of the water and away from the beach.
Mana whenua had put a rāhui in place.
Meanwhile, testing was underway at a cordoned-off area at Awatoto to determine if any chemical contaminants were present in the waste.
Cordons went up at Napier's Awatoto Road on 21 February, after a sewage spill in the area. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
NCC infrastructure services executive director Russell Bond confirmed there had been no gas leaks.
"Any odours are natural biological processes of material being broken down. That said, we need a fuller understanding of the risks before removing the cordon from around the area.
"Keeping the cordon in place also allows our workers safe and easy access to ascertain what needs to be done to get the treatment plant fully operational again.
"We hope to have a better picture of the situation in the coming days after the lab results come back."
The council emphasised it was important residents kept water use to a minimum as it worked to keep wastewater systems operating.