Since 2019, a dedicated group of Titahi Bay residents — Your Bay Your Say — with support from the Titahi Bay Residents Association, has worked to raise awareness about the serious public health challenges facing their coastal community.

Titahi Bay Beach lies just 700 metres from the outfall of the Porirua Wastewater Treatment Plant, with two additional pump station discharge points nearby. During heavy rainfall, the stormwater and wastewater infrastructure is overwhelmed, resulting in untreated sewage being released directly into the bay through all three outlets.

Despite years of advocacy, efforts to obtain accurate, reliable water quality data have been met with frustration and limited progress. In response, the community decided to take action by creating a citizen-led surveillance tool—WAVES—empowering locals to collect and share their own data to protect themselves and others.

Our thanks to Whitireia and WelTec undergraduate and graduate students -
Phase 1: Vaibhav Bhardwaj, Chao Tang, Kyle Holland, Jason Horner for creating the WAVES App.
Phase 2: Satya Rameshwari Kalli, Harish Choudhary, Kiran Kiran for enhancing the App with improvements to data storage, cybersecurity, more locations and options to collect data for children and dog walkers.
Phase 3: Meenakshi Arun, Vikki Thaung, Aditya Bhati, Mehakpreet Kaur for developing the FAQ, supporting data analytics through a customised dashboard, improving user experience and navigation of locations, making the website more scalable, strengthening backend functionality, and completing security and testing improvements.