Coronation Park and Pilot Bay Harbour are off limits until further notice after Tauranga City Council experienced a wastewater overflow due to the torrential flooding this morning.

Following the torrential rain in the early hours of the morning causing significant flooding across the Mount Maunganui and Papamoa areas Tauranga City Council were forced to take action after a wastewater overflow at both the Nikau Street Pump Station and the Waikareao Estuary.

Tauranga City Council drainage engineer Peter Mora outside Coronation Park this morning. Photo: Tracy Hardy

Metservice report between 8pm and 9am this morning the region recorded 112 millimetres with most of the rain hitting between 2-5am submerging cars and parts of houses.

Tauranga City Council drainage engineer Peter Mora says they have managed to get the sewer pumps working again and it now is a matter of getting rid of the contaminated water in Coronation Park.

Council staff will empty 80,000 litres of contaminated water from the park before spreading disinfectant across the ground and erecting warning signs saying the area is closed.

'It's all overflowed on to the streets and gone out the storm water outlets and come out of the pipes by Salisbury Wharf and into Pilot Bay Harbour.”

He cannot say what level of contamination is in the overflow water, but it is enough to close the park for up to a week at this stage.

'It's probably a normal sewage amount diluted with the rain water.

'It's mostly rain water but because it has that contaminated factor we have to classify it like that.”

Peter says is advising residents not to swim in Pilot Bay because although there has been a high level of rain in the past 12 hours the water may still contain traces of contaminants.

'It's gone into the water there but because it's tidal it's been diluted. We have put out floating signs to warn people not to swim for a few days.”