A warning sign for swimmers at Judges Bay, central Auckland, after recent sewage flows. Photo: Emma Stanford
Watercare and Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei are meeting with environment system regeneration experts to discuss how to restore Auckland's Waitematā Harbour.
Raw sewage spilled into it at the end of September when a storm and wastewater pipe burst, creating a sinkhole in a Parnell carpark and blocking the Ōrākei main sewer.
Watercare installed a bypass pipe to prevent the wastewater from overflowing into the harbour, but was unable to stop it completely.
Watercare environmental care manager Nathaniel Wilson said it would be discussing how to improve the health of the harbour with iwi and ecology experts on Friday.
"We will be looking for the best opportunities for rehabilitation including shellfish repopulation, habitat regrowth and other measures that will just improve the ecology of the harbour."
After seven weeks, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei on Thursday morning lifted the rāhui over the harbour at Ōkahu Bay, meaning swimmers can get back in the water.
Wilson said the lifting of the rāhui was partly in response to its good test results.
"We've been doing a wide range of parameters but the focus for swimming has been faecal bacteria but those levels have dropped substantially over the period we've been monitoring. We've also been testing for heavy metals, personal care products and other potential contaminants.
"The testing to date shows that the harbour's recovered really well, so now when you see a green pin on SafeSwim it is absolutely safe to swim."
He said monitoring would continue through to the end of the year.
Judges Bay had been closed to swimming after the sewage flow into the harbour.. Photo: Emma Stanford
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei deputy chairperson Ngarimu Blair said lifting the rāhui was a relief, but many people had been ignoring it anyway.
"There's been people, not our people, swimming, even on the weekend, but they did that at their own risk despite there being a rāhui in place and despite there being warnings from Watercare and the council but now the science says and the mātauranga Māori [Māori knowledge] says that the risk is low enough to swim."
Beaches including Herne Bay, Home Bay and Judges Bay were back to green pins on the SafeSwim website by early Friday morning but Sentinel Road Beach and Masefield Beach still had 'do not swim' status.
Auckland Council Healthy Waters head of planning Nick Vigar said if there was a green pin, people could be confident about swimming there, but SafeSwim did not cover warnings on fishing and collecting shellfish.
"As far as I'm aware, there is a 28-day stand-down still in place so until around the 22nd of November, our advice to people is still not to fish in that area."
Public health advice from Te Whatu Ora said not to collect shellfish from anywhere within the Waitematā Harbour and any fish should be properly cleaned, gutted and cooked thoroughly.
Medical officer of health Dr David Sinclair said contact with contaminated water came with risk of infection.
"You can get infected through your eyes, ears and nose, as well as any open sores or wounds. If swallowed, contaminated water can cause gastroenteritis.
"In most cases, people will recover from nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea without having to seek medical treatment, however if you need health advice you can call Healthline on 0800 611 116 or your GP."