Water Science and Technology

  Published last month (August, 2026) a unique report exploring the operational reasons for one of the largest wastewater treatment plant failures ever recorded – the Moa Point WWTP in Wellington New Zealand on the 4 th  February 2026.  Flooding severely damaged the main unit processes, in particular  the primary, secondary (biological) treatment and UV disinfection, and also its electrical and control systems. Six months later the plant is still only operational in preliminary mode, with the screened wastewater discharged via a 1.8 km long sea outfall. According to Gregory Walligora (@lordmacgreg  on X), who has been documenting this case, 70,000 m 3  of untreated wastewater has been discharged to sea each day since the 4 th  February, equivalent to 15 million m 3  to the end of August.       The key finding of the report is the lack of resilience in plant design and operation, although it also showed it was impossib...

Thames water report that an estimated 3.8 billion wet wipes are flushed into their sewer system annually (2026). They clear over 100 wipe-related blockages every day.  They have recently introduced a new tool called a hedgehog which are metal pipes  covered in spikes that catch wipes as the pass along the sewer helping to locate the source. Hedgehogs are of different sizes to match the sewer diameter. Surveys are followed up by a local education programme encouraging people not to flush wipes but to bin them.  Unlike toilet paper the wipes do not break up in the sewer but cause blockages which lead to the formation of fatbergs.  The campaign reduces the local disposal of wet wipes by toilet flushing by between 50-70%.  More at: https://www.thameswater.co.uk/news/2026/aug/hedgehog-customer-awareness-campaign-cuts-flushed-wipes-by-almost-two-thirds