Birds have fled, humans want to leave and even the midges have gone - Christchurch's damaged waste water plant is driving everyone away with its "horrendous" stench.
Pond near Bromley wastewater treatment plant in Christchurch. Photo: RNZ / Niva Chittock
The plant's oxidation ponds double as a wildlife reserve and are now also one of the worst causes of the smell.
Road signs warning of pukeko crossing Bromley's Dyers Road used to alert drivers to the scores of birds on the ponds.
But since the fire, local resident Damian Elley has noticed a big change in the water.
"The water's appearance is definitely stale. The edge of the concrete that's a couple of metres into the water is harder to distinguish, giving a real solid effect. And it's usually particles that you notice - some sort of build up - I'm not a 100 percent sure what it is," he said.
He claimed it was impacting the surrounding environment.
"We're not seeing midges, which used to be a huge problem. We're not seeing birds. We're not seeing eels - we're not seeing anything alive any more.
"The reason the wildlife's gone is because the water's dead, there's no oxygen in the water and nothing can live in it," Elley explained.
Damian Elley. Photo: RNZ / Niva Chittock
The stench is strong at the side of the water because the raw waste is not being treated to the same quality as before the fire destroyed the trickling filters.
"The council says look at the trickling filters, we've lost the roof on each of them, we can't use them any more. But ... the waste is now going straight into the ponds - which are also called Bromley Wildlife Reserve," Elley explained.
"But the animals can't live here. The people of the Bromley community just about can't live here but unfortunately, we can't just pack up and go like the birds can."
Elley believed the solution would be neutralising the water chemically and has raised this with Christchurch City Council.
But he said it was not doing it because the treatment costs thousands of dollars.
Bromley wastewater treatment plant in Christchurch Photo: RNZ / Niva Chittock
Council has carried out water testing but has not yet shared the results with RNZ.
It said financial and wellbeing compensation would be offered to residents in the immediate vicinity but the details were yet to be determined.
Jo, who lives in Burwood, a few suburbs to the north of the plant, doubts that would be enough.
"In my mind, I'm thinking immediate vicinity is a couple of streets that are very, very close - next to the plant," she said.
"I would say at least, at the very minimum, the entirety of Bromley need that assistance, not just the immediate vicinity of the plant."
The stench got bad at Jo's place six weeks ago, when she woke up in the middle of the night thinking her cat had defecated in her room.
Since, she has been sleeping with a eucalyptus tissue over her face to get a little reprieve, and said her son's asthma was worse.
Bromley wastewater treatment plant in Christchurch Photo: RNZ / Niva Chittock
Jo hoped the council will decide to use a criteria system not just street names or postcodes to decide who should be eligible for compensation.
"It's horrendous. My youngest, he has asthma, so it really concerns me what damage the smell could be doing to him if it's giving me a sore throat.
"I'm considering going to the doctor's if his asthma continues to be bad - it's just so unusual for it to be like this, it's normally mild."
The bird sculpture is a few hundred metres from the ponds at the South Brighton Estuary. Photo: RNZ / Niva Chittock
Today, Christchurch City Council cancelled its free wellbeing workshops for the community, due to lack of interest.
It said it was open to holding them again in the future at the community's request.
Specific compensation options like reimbursement for air purifiers, free healthcare appointments and paid trips to hot pools, will be put to councillors in a meeting next Thursday.