Update at 10.35pm, residents are returning home and Fire and Emergency NZ have provided an update on the Tuakau wastewater incident:
Firefighters will shortly be demobilising from Tuakau, where Fire and Emergency New Zealand has been responding to a hazardous substances incident tonight.
Assistant District Commander Brad Harvey says firefighters have been flushing the drains, and atmospheric readings now show that the air quality in and around the drains has returned to safe levels.
Residents who were evacuated earlier this evening are able to return home. The advice to other residents to stay inside with doors and windows shut has also been lifted.
The scene will be left in the hands of local water management staff. The nature and source of the substance which prompted the emergency response has not yet been established.
The crews of four fire appliances still on site will be preparing to depart shortly.
IAWAI is working with Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) to flush wastewater pipes after reports of an odour of fuel in a Tuakau street. 15 homes in the area have been evacuated for safety purposes.
There is no impact on drinking water or stormwater networks, and no issues with drinking water quality. The fuel odour was noted earlier in the day in the wastewater system.
FENZ were notified and this evening established a control centre in the area while the issue is addressed.
