New Zealand's wastewater networks overflowed 31 times a day last year

Taumata Arowai's first complete national water report recorded 11,535 wastewater overflows across New Zealand in 2024/25 — an average of 31 per day. Twenty-two percent of wastewater treatment plants were operating on expired consents. The report covers 331 public wastewater networks serving 84 percent of the population.