Christchurch City Council issued abatement notice over Bromley stench

Christchurch City Council has been issued an abatement notice for the stench coming from its fire-damaged Bromley wastewater treatment plant. 

It has until March 16th to come up with a plan that outlines both short-and-long-term odour-mitigation measures, along with achievable timeframes.

Environment Canterbury (Canterbury Regional Council) is behind the statutory notice. Since January it has received more than 4,500 reports from the community describing a putrid, sewage-like smell. In a statement, it suggests the City Council has failed to provide an adequate action plan to mitigate the stench.

Director of Operations Brett Aldridge told rova news the priority remains getting rid of the odour. 

“We're in regular communication and we know they [City Council] have a number of measures in place to address the smell - we also know they have a number of potential solutions planned.”

He added the abatement notice is a formality for getting results, as there is no easy fix. 

“Once we get the plan back from them… we’ll test those actions and proposals with our own independent experts and we’ll hold them accountable for delivery… that does not mean we’re not continuing to work with the City Council and doing whatever we can to help them,” he said.

While there have been complaints of the Bromley smell for years, it was exacerbated in January by heavy rains that disrupted the plant’s biological process. Locals have been calling for action since. 

Community Advocate Rebecca Robin is searching for answers through formal channels:

On Newsline, Christchurch City Council said it has been working closely with Environment Canterbury over recent months, keeping them informed of progress. 

“In simple terms, the notice states that the plant is currently breaching its resource consent because odour is travelling beyond the boundary of the treatment plant and oxidation ponds,” it said. 

“We take this notice seriously. Addressing odour remains a top priority and we are committed to doing everything we can to reduce impacts on the community. We will continue to keep the community and Environment Canterbury updated as this work progresses.”

It has almost finished removing excess soil and other material, to install stone columns for a new ‘activated sludge reactor’, warning there may be some noise and vibration while work continues.

Aldridge said Environment Canterbury will keep on top of the Council and its new deadline. 

“Ultimately if they choose to do nothing, yes, there is a statutory route that we go down. We don’t expect that to be the case. The City Council wants this fixed as fast as we do. This notice is really... formalizing things and so we can hold them to account.”