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Wastewater overflow notifications

Wastewater overflows pose a serious risk to public health and our environment and need to be fixed immediately.

Most wastewater blockages (and subsequent overflows) occur when people flush things down their toilets or sinks that they shouldn’t like wet wipes, fats and cooking oils. Wastewater overflows can also occur when stormwater enters the wrong pipes during heavy rain due to faulty gully traps or damaged infrastructure.

If a wastewater overflow has occurred, please notify us.

Report a water problem

All clear - Wastewater Overflow Notification - Chapel Street Waste Water Treatment Plant - Emergency Discharge of Treated Wastewater

Event date: 21/01/2026 8:00 am Export event

Overflow Notification

Wastewater overflow at Chapel Street Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) on 21 January 2026.

The discharge resulted from the emergency overflow of treated wastewater, authorised under Resource Consent 62882. High rainfall on 21 January 2026 caused inflows to exceed plant capacity, triggering activation of the emergency overflow. The treated wastewater was discharged to the harbour.

The discharge occurred between approximately 5:00 pm and 2:30 am, with an estimated total discharge duration of around 2.4 hours.

The discharge is likely to have impacted the Tauranga Harbour, particularly in the Maxwells Road and Sulphur Point areas.

Actions Completed

Water quality sample results indicate that there will be no further impact as a result of the abovementioned overflow.

Further Information

Contact Tauranga City Council on 07 577 7000.

Posted: Jan 22, 2026,

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