Anger grows over odour in Waipukurau

Councils says odour complaints have continued to come in after experts advised using new chemicals and a helicopter to douse the ponds at Waipukurau's wastewater treatment plant. Photo / CHB Facebook

Patience appears to be wearing thin not just among residents but also within CHB District Council, as the odour problems at Waipukurau's wastewater treatment plant continue with no end in sight.

In the latest unsuccessful attempt by council to eliminate the offensive odours from the council-owned facility on Mt Herbert Rd, which residents have been complaining about since last summer, a helicopter was used to apply a top dressing of calcium ammonium nitrate to the plant's oxidation ponds on August 18.

Council also initiated a dosing regime of the chemical to replace the previous substance it had been using, ferrous chloride, which only had a short term result before the odour problems returned to their high levels.

Chief executive Monique Davidson said council was disappointed the latest moves, carried out at the recommendation of experts, failed to work as anticipated.

"The treatment has not been as effective and as quick as we had been advised. We have continued to receive odour notifications over the course of [last] week. The current situation is not acceptable and we are continuing to work hard to resolve the odour issue," says Mrs Davidson.

After council shared details of the unsuccessful aerial dousing operation on its Facebook page, residents were quick to vent their frustration. One woman complained that residents had "put up with the disgusting stench for far too long", and their patience was "quickly running out".

"Stop wasting the ratepayer's money on faulty and incompetent advise [sic]. Sack those so-called experts and find someone who knows how to sort this ASAP."

Another resident complained the stench was so bad last Wednesday that, despite the beautiful weather, she couldn't open the window of her home and feared it would be "another miserable summer for us".

CHB mayor Alex Walker said she and councillors shared the frustration of local residents and could appreciate the community's patience was wearing thin. She said councillors were trying to understand the problem and focus on a solution to the odours, but the wastewater treatment plant had a long and complex history.

"We are dealing with a string of decisions and information about this plant which we need to unravel and it is taking some time," she said.

Monique Davidson said while it was extremely frustrating, she wanted to reassure the community that the she personally, as well as council, were committed to resolving the problem.

"We are collating information from all parties involved to date with the expectation of formulating some recommendations by early November.

"While I cannot fix the problem overnight, I am committed to keeping the community informed of progress and making it a priority that the current situation is resolved," she said.

Council has this year spent $1.6 million on building an anaerobic pond and stormwater balancing pond in part to deal with odour problems at the plant, which was redeveloped in 2013 into a floating wetlands model at a cost of more than $6m.