Wellington Businesses Warn of Closure Over Wastewater Crisis

As soon as it happened, I was like, “oh, this is the worst possible scenario, the worst-case scenario,” said Jack Candlish, from Verdure Surf in Lyall Bay, capturing the sentiment of Wellington south coast business owners facing closures and relocations while the Moa Point wastewater treatment plant remains months away from full operation.

Billions of litres of untreated wastewater have poured into the sea since the facility suffered a failure during heavy rain in February. The ongoing contamination has driven visitors away from Lyall Bay, leaving local merchants struggling to cover fixed costs like rent, insurance, and staff wages.

Candlish Plans Relocation as Local Businesses Close

Candlish attempted to offset plummeting local foot traffic by pivoting his strategy to target out-of-town buyers and improve his website, 1News reported. However, he remains pessimistic about a local customer return while environmental warnings persist.

“I think that’s still going to put a lot of people off,” Candlish told 1News, adding that he has not been in the water since February. He expects to relocate his workshop, likely to Raglan.

Steve Walters, general manager of Destination KRL, confirmed that two businesses have already closed their doors due to the crisis and warned that more failures are imminent. According to Walters, affected merchants cannot wait out the ongoing disruption without immediate financial assistance.

“These businesses have got rates, insurance, staff cost to pay right now,” Walters said, 1News reported. He argued that waiting for a council-backed summer event is too late and urged officials to provide rates relief comparable to the financial support offered to businesses during the parliamentary occupation.

Mayor Little Rejects Rates Relief for Renting Businesses

Mayor Andrew Little argued that such measures would primarily benefit landlords rather than guaranteeing direct relief for renting business owners, maintaining that the city has acted responsibly and within its means.

“The problem with the rates relief thing is that that would have benefited the landlords of the businesses, most of the businesses are renting in premises,” Little told 1News. He added that the council is not structured to provide a permanent financial underwrite, though Wellington NZ has supplied business mentoring support.

To aid economic recovery, the council is exploring a community event at the end of summer to signal that the area is open again. Mayor Little stated that scheduling the gathering for the end of summer ensures certainty that conditions will be safe.

Environmental management group Tiaki Wai noted that the volume of untreated wastewater discharges will decrease significantly as plant capacity increases. Nevertheless, intermittent releases through the long outfall will continue during the recovery period, and short outfall discharges in Tarakena Bay remain possible during heavy rainfall. Officials also warned that biological treatment re-establishment may cause increased odours around Moa Point.

Next Operational Milestones

The Moa Point wastewater treatment plant is scheduled to restart on November 12, initiating a gradual reintegration process that will extend through to February to achieve full operational capacity.