‘Flush and forget’: Is Moa Point a warning for other wastewater plants?

Wellington’s Moa Point wastewater plant has flooded and shut down, dumping raw sewage into the south coast – this untreated discharge is set to continue for weeks.  

Heavy rain overwhelmed the facility, built in the 90s, triggering beach rāhuis, health warnings, and exposing how climate-driven storms are already stressing coastal infrastructure. 

Billions of dollars is likely required to get our wastewater infrastructure up to scratch nationwide... but after a long history of underfunding, are we too late? 

Today on The Front Page, University of Canterbury associate professor Ricardo Bello Mendoza is with us to unpack the engineering lessons from Moa Point, the climate risks, and what it means for our future. 

But first, NZ Herald senior reporter Melissa Nightingale will set the scene for us in Wellington.

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