Heavy rain that broke the drought in Northland has caused the unwelcome side-effect of a sewage spill in Whangarei harbour.
Stormwater flooded the sewage system on Thursday, triggering a spill at the usual site - the Okara pumping station.
The Whangarei District Council is just days away from completing work at Okara that it says will prevent such spills in future.
It says bigger pumps to cope with flood conditions will be switched on next week, backed up by a new pipeline to the treatment station.
The council says in the meantime, people should not fish or swim in the upper harbour for the next five days, and avoid collecting shellfish for the next month.
