The Seaview Wastewater Treatment Plant has been emitting foul odours for years. Photo: RNZ / Krystal Gibbens
- Lower Hutt residents suffering from the foul stench from the nearby wastewater treatment plant say it is better when the deodoriser is switched off.
- The odour neutraliser had been turned off for a few weeks as the first part of a test to establish a baseline for the impact on the overall smell.
- Phase two has the deodoriser back on for a couple of weeks - and authorities want feedback about which is better
Residents of a Lower Hutt suburb suffering from the foul stench from the nearby wastewater treatment plant say they have noticed a huge difference since a deodoriser was turned off.
The Seaview area has suffered bad smells for years, but it got worse in September when plant equipment broke.
An odour neutraliser was installed in October to mask the stench, but some residents have complained the neutralising chemicals only made the smell worse.
As part of the first of two test phases, Wellington Water temporarily turned the neutraliser off to see whether the smell improved.
Seaview resident Anthony Coomer, who works at Racetech near the wastewater plant, said it was much better without it.
"So [it] definitely is a lot better. I'm in a couple of Facebook groups and stuff like that and basically no one's been complaining.
"I think there was one or two days where it smelt more than normal but it was nowhere near what it was where put it this way, you can't taste it anymore."
Kokiri Marae is around the corner from the plant and whānau have also noticed the stench had not been as brutal since the deodoriser was switched off.
Trustee Star Olsen said when it was on, the marae would feel a sense of shame while hosting its manuhiri.
"We have a lot of hui here as well, putting that aside its pretty embarrassing when it was at its height, the smell, you almost felt embarrassed to bring them on to be honest.
"Moving the way they have done although pretty slow, I must say I think we've got the desired outcome."
Anthony Coomer, who works at Racetech near the wastewater plant, said the smell was much better with the deodoriser turned off. Photo: RNZ / Krystal Gibbens
Seaview resident and builder Chris Hetherington said although the smell was not as bad as before, he was still suffering.
"It's hard having to live with the smell of shit continuously, so it is getting better over the last week but it's still not good, it's just getting better than it was."
The smell is coming from a broken dryer which will take up to four years to replace and cost the Hutt City Council $225 million.
Olsen hoped the deodoriser stayed off while everyone celebrated the silly season.
"If they left it off to be fair over Christmas it would be nice if they done that, I'm not sure what the impact what the impact would be at that end. I'm not quite sure what they were trying to achieve in putting the deodoriser on in fact because obviously they weren't listening to the community."
But Wellington Water has already turned the odour neutralisers back - the second phase of their test to establish a baseline for whether the smelll is better or worse with or without it.
It wants the public's input via an online survey.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5G8XTJ2
Meanwhile it said crucial work at the plant may have affected the overall smell making it a challenge to pinpoint the effectiveness of the deodorizer during the trial.
"But these are critical works to bring the plant back to optimal operational performance and reduce the risk of increased odour levels over the holiday period," it said.
Wellington Water will release findings from the survey from part one of the trial mid afternoon.
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