Those living near the Seaview wastewater treatment plant have been plagued by stench for months. Photo: RNZ / Krystal Gibbens
Residents in the Lower Hutt suburb of Seaview are hopeful that turning off deodoriser cannons at the local wastewater treatment plant will help reduce a pungent smell that frequently permeates the surrounding area.
The odour neutralisers have been in place at the Seaview Wastewater Treatment Plant since October in an attempt to mask the stench caused by failing equipment which may take up to four years to fix.
But earlier this week, Wellington Water announced that it would try turning them off from 4-18 December, after the community said they were not helping.
Community advocate Don Gould said many of the residents had complained that the chemical smell from the deodorisers was adding to the odour.
Using the deodorisers was essentially like spraying a lot of Spray and Wipe cleaner into the air, he said.
Community advocate Don Gould outside the Seaview wastewater treatment plant. Photo: RNZ / Krystal Gibbens
He was optimistic that trialling the deodorisers being off for two weeks followed by turning them again would be a good test of their effectiveness.
Anthony Coomer works at motorsport seat manufacturer Racetech on Barnes Street, about 300 metres from the plant.
Coomer said the area was inundated nearly every single day with the stench.
On Thursday with the deodorisers off, he said there was less smell than usual - but that was helped by a northerly gust blowing it away.
"It [was] literally a breath of fresh air."
Anthony Coomer outside the Race Tech building, about 300m from the wastewater treatment plant in Seaview. Photo: RNZ / Krystal Gibbens
Hutt City mayor Campbell Barry said the council had set up a survey so residents could let them know how they found the trial.
He said the council would also have people on the group surveying residents.
"The trial will run for two weeks. We'll then assess that feedback and decide what we do moving forward."
Wellington Water said odour neutralisers were commonly used globally by the wastewater and landfill industries, but were recommended as a last line of defence by the Ministry for the Environment.
A Wellington Water spokesperson said the intention of the trial was to test if the level of odour in the surrounding areas was worse, the same, or better than before the trial started.
"Community feedback is essential to help towards assessing the impact of this shutdown on odour levels so a survey is underway to capture this information," the spokesperson said.
"It is evident from the feedback so far that a number of people within the area are affected to varying degrees, and some more so than others. When wind is from a northerly direction it impacts those towards the south whereas a southerly goes up the valley and affects those in the northern suburbs."
Eighteen people had completed the survey by 5pm Thursday.
Wellington Water said it had also started visiting schools, marae and businesses in the localised area in case people had not heard of the trial and the survey.
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