A valve on a pipe that we transfer milk through opened, releasing milk into the waste water drain instead of it reaching its intended location of another milk silo. As soon as we became aware of the leak, we stopped the transfer of the milk. However our current waste water system could not cope with the unexpected large volume so the milk overflowed into our ocean outfall. The Taranaki Regional Council and iwi were notified immediately. Maclean said skim milk was soluble in water and an inspection of the outfall shortly after the spill showed no milk in the sea. However, Fonterra staff were sent to remove visible fat deposits from the Ohawe and Waihi beaches.