Sewage spill onto Scarborough Beach on 10 January

12 January 2004

Scarborough Beach was temporarily closed for swimming due to a spillage of sewage onto the beach on Saturday 10 January.

City Water and Waste Manager Mike Stockwell says that a sewer main flowing into the pump station in Scarborough Park became blocked around 9.30 am on Saturday morning causing sewage to overflow into the open stormwater drain running along the east side of the park and onto Scarborough Beach.

Mr Stockwell says that this resulted in the closure of Scarborough Beach between the Clock Tower and Cave Rock until the next high tide at 9pm flushed it clean.  The closure with signage and tape meant people were kept off the beach.

Additional Information

It appears that the sewer pipe blockage was caused by stones entering the sewer pipe from building sites on Scarborough Hill.

Sea water samples were taken on Saturday afternoon along Scarborough Beach.  Tests on these samples showed that the beach was safe for swimming.  Because the tests take 24 hours it was necessary, for the safety of the public, to close the Beach.

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