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...