Watercare announces final compensation decision for Mahurangi oyster farmers

Watercare will make a final support payment for oyster farmers following the dry-weather wastewater overflow that impacted the Mahurangi Harbour on 28 October 2025. This brings the total support provided to farmers and the wider industry to $2.75 million, following independent loss assessments.

Watercare Chief Operations Officer Mark Bourne said the decision followed independent assessments of the financial impact attributable to the unexpected October overflow event.

“We sincerely apologise to the oyster farmers affected by this incident and recognise the impact it had on their livelihoods and on the wider Mahurangi Harbour aquaculture industry.

We commissioned an independent loss assessment to understand the financial impact of the October event on oyster farmers, resulting in the farms being shut down by MPI during a critical part of their harvesting season. This process has informed Watercare’s approach to resolving the claims.”

Watercare previously provided $2 million in immediate financial support to eight oyster farmers through Aquaculture New Zealand shortly after the incident, while a robust loss assessment process was undertaken.

The final payments include compensation for a ninth oyster farmer who subsequently made a claim relating to the October event, and a payment to Aquaculture New Zealand to recognise the wider impact on the Mahurangi oyster industry.

“Our focus has been on resolving this complex situation in a fair and pragmatic way, informed by an independent process and due diligence appropriate for a publicly owned organisation,” Bourne said.

Watercare has written to AQNZ and the farmers to advise them of these final payments.

“We have been committed to making things right, and we’ve worked hard to turn that commitment into action so we can all move forward”.

Independent reviews into the cause of the overflow have also been completed. The reviews found the incident resulted from a unique chain of events involving technical and operational factors at the newly commissioned Warkworth Street Pump Station, triggered by a power outage.

The review concluded that the combination of factors involved in the incident was specific to the circumstances at the time. Watercare is implementing the improvements identified through the reviews, and monitoring confirms the pump station is operating as expected.

“We have taken the findings of the reviews seriously and have already implemented improvements to strengthen our systems and processes.”

Watercare will continue to engage with Aquaculture New Zealand and the affected farmers as the process concludes.