More misery for Christchurch residents as putrid smell set to get worse

The Team Reporter from The Press

Mask up, bolt the windows and don’t hang out your undies because removing the stinking mass of material from Christchurch’s fire-damaged wastewater treatment plant is expected to make the putrid odour worse in the coming days.

For long-suffering residents of Bromley, the free $200 Prezzy card handed out by the Christchurch City Council this week, may not be enough to compensate for an even denser odour expected to blanket the area later this week.

Many residents have complained the pong has had significant health effects, including headaches, burning eyes and sore throats.

The council’s three waters head, Helen Beaumont, said the smell would get worse as material deep inside the trickling filters became exposed to the elements and started rotting.

“It’s also possible there could be some dust, but spray misters will be used continuously to control this and the odour.”

Alongside the stench and the dust, local residents are being warned there will be more noise at the treatment plant due to two chippers that will be used to process material quickly.

Beaumont said the council would monitor noise levels during the test run and explore a range of measures to keep the noise down.

The first loads of rotting material from the filters will be taken to Kate Valley Landfill in North Canterbury on Friday via Breezes Rd, State Highway 74 and SH1.

It’s unlikely residents and businesses along the route will smell the stench, as the chipped and compacted material will be placed into bins before they are sealed with a tough plastic membrane.

The ongoing struggle to live with the smelly problem in east Christchurch led the council to offer a one-off $200 Prezzy card payment to 3300 households in Bromley.

Applications for the payment opened on Monday and $23,800 was dished out that day, according to the council, but supplies ran so low that those yet to apply were asked to wait until the end of the week before doing so.

The support package was available to all residents in the area bounded by Buckleys Rd, Pages Rd, SH74 and Linwood Ave.

Affected residents who wanted a Prezzy card need to bring proof of address and photo ID to one of the following providers:
- Ngā Hau E Whā (250 Pages Rd), open from 9am to 3pm. Phone 03 382 6628.
- He Waka Tapu (161 Pages Rd), open from 8.30am to 3pm. Phone 03 373 8150.
- Bromley Community Centre (45 Bromley Rd), open from 9am to 2.30pm. Phone 03 389 1657.
- The Loft (Level 1, Eastgate Shopping Centre), open from 9am to 5pm. Phone 0800 THE LOFT (0800 865 638).