Wellington City Council and Tiaki Wai each face 10 charges over alleged unlawful wastewater discharges from the Moa Point Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Greater Wellington filed the charges following an investigation into discharges during an upgrade of the plant’s ultraviolet treatment system between October 2025 and January 2026, and the treatment plant failure in early February 2026 and subsequent discharges.
Each organisation faces five charges relating to alleged unlawful discharges and five relating to alleged breaches of an abatement notice.
Greater Wellington Director Strategy, Policy and Regulation Fathima Iftikar said the decision followed a detailed investigation into the events, the roles of the parties involved and the environmental consequences.
“Taking enforcement action against public organisations is a serious decision, and not one we take lightly,” Dr Iftikar said.
“Greater Wellington’s responsibility as the environmental regulator is to make those decisions independently, based on the evidence and the law.
“No matter how important the service, or who owns or operates it, the obligation to comply with environmental law remains the same.”
Under the Resource Management Act, Wellington City Council and Tiaki Wai could each face a maximum fine of $10 million per charge if convicted. Any decision on fines would be made by the Court.
The February failure resulted in untreated wastewater being discharged into the sea on Wellington’s south coast.
Work to restore the treatment plant continues, while Greater Wellington is separately considering whether further regulatory measures are required to return the plant to full compliance with its resource consents.
The prosecution is now before the Court and Greater Wellington said it could not comment further.
