Watercare helps unblock pipes at The Olympic

Lumps of wood, rags, wet wipes and hair created a major blockage at The Olympic, Newmarket earlier this week.

Watercare received a call on Monday after a wastewater spill was discovered in the basement of the Broadway property. Contractors spent almost 48 hours (working day and night) helping to clear the soggy mess from pipes buried deep underneath the property.

The Olympic’s directors made the decision to close the pool to the public on Tuesday in the interests of public safety, while the work was carried out and notified Auckland Council, who supported the decision. Regular testing by Watercare’s Lab team revealed the water was not contaminated by the spill or unblocking operation.

Watercare wastewater networks manager, Suzanne Naylor says it was a difficult operation: “Several response teams worked long and hard to clear the blockage, conduct regular flushing and inspections with CTV cameras. Large pieces of wood from an old manhole bench were the culprit, along with non-disposable items like wet wipes, rags, soapy residue and hair.

It was all the more difficult, because the blockage was in a 15 metre deep chamber, underneath the building, so access was really difficult. I’m really proud of the commitment and hard work everyone put in. It took a long time but we had a great outcome.”

The Olympic Pools and Fitness Centre has an illustrious history dating back to 1940, when New Zealand’s first 50 metre pool was installed. In 1950, the venue hosted the Commonwealth Games (then known as the Empire Games).The age of the property was part of the problem, Naylor says: “The pipework was of varying sizes and the underground chamber was unusual to say the least.”

The Olympic’s directors thanked Watercare for their assistance and re-opened the facility on Wednesday morning. They believe the majority of the debris (wood etc) came from construction during redevelopment of the site about 25 years ago.

Watercare would like to remind everyone that blockages from non-disposable items like wet wipes are on the rise and that only the “three p’s”: poo, pee and paper should be flushed down the toilet.

Ends.

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