Hundreds of litres of raw sewage is spilling into Auckland's Waitematā Harbour every second because of a sinkhole impacting a large sewer.
Several beaches have been closed and advice issued for people not to fish, swim or carry out watersports as a result of the overflow into the Harbour.
Watercare's Chief Operating Officer Mark Bourne provided an update on AM this morning, saying it could take several days for the issue to be resolved.
"The damaged pipe is challenging to fix, it is 13-metres deep which is equivalent to a four-storey building", Bourne said. "Our highest priority is unblocking the pipeline and returning it to service."
AM co-host Ryan Bridge pushed Bourne for clarification on how long it will take to fix.
"Several days of hundreds of litres per second of raw sewage going into the harbour?" Bridge questioned.
"Unfortunately, yes," Bourne replied.
Bridge then pushed Bourne for a timeline of the when Watercare knew they had an overflow issue.
"Who knew about the poo, and when?" Bridge said.
According to Bourne, Watercare was aware of the sinkhole, or "tomo", on Monday but said it didn't affect the sewer until Wednesday morning.
He said crews have worked non-stop since then to fix the issue.
Overflow is occurring in three locations - two near Mechanics Bay in Parnell and a third at the western end of the Viaduct Harbour.
Black flagged beaches have been listed on Auckland Council's SafeSwim website.
It could take up to 72 hours after the blockage is cleared for beaches to be deemed swimmable.
