Warning signs go up near The Lagoon beside Frank Kitts Park after a burst wastewater main leaked sewage into Wellington harbour.

A damaged wastewater pipe in Wellington's CBD is likely to cause rush hour traffic to run slowly, as vehicles on part of Victoria St are squeezed to one lane.

The pipe cracked early on Wednesday morning, dumping sewage into the harbour, Wellington City Council spokesperson Richard MacLean said.

"We've had a bit of a sewage fountain occurring in that area, and so it's gone into the harbour through the stormwater network."

MONIQUE FORD / Stuff.co.nz Burst wastewater mains send sewage into Wellington lagoon.

Thousands of litres of the sewage seeped into the sea. The Harbour is likely to be off-limits to swimmers for two to three days.

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Contractors were working to fix the pipe, but not before people started heading home from work.

MONIQUE FORD / FAIRFAX NZ The sewage came from a pipe that burst on Victoria St early on Wednesday morning.



That meant traffic movements on Victoria St would be down to one lane between Harris and Willeston streets.

Lane closures would be in place on Thursday too.

MONIQUE FORD/FAIRFAX NZ The city council is warning people to stay out of Frank Kitt's Lagoon and the inner harbour after diluted sewage from a broken pipe ran into the water.

"The repair to the wastewater pipe will be completed tonight," MacLean said.

"However the road reinstatement work will not be happening until tomorrow morning."

The council earlier let the sewage flow into the harbour through the street side gutter, but that flow had now stopped.



Hoses and chemicals were used on areas where the sewage had travelled.

"The smell's gone away but obviously we have to fix the break," MacLean said.