Our team has been working hard to operate the wastewater treatment plant and oxidation pond system as effectively as possible.

The overall health of the pond system continues to improve, and odour has reduced. The temporary activated sludge plant is once again performing well after a phase of instability over the holiday period.

Our air quality monitoring still shows that in certain wind conditions the plant itself is producing an odour, rather than the ponds. The data also shows that at times ponds #1 and #4 are the source of odour.

While the picture is looking good, we’ve kept oxidation ponds #1 and #4 orange on the pond tracker for now. We’ll keep monitoring the health of the ponds and expect continued improvement.

We’ve got a range of improvement and maintenance work underway. This includes essential maintenance work on three vertical shaft aerators and planning work for a temporary activated sludge plant improvement project.

Hydrogen sulphide monitor results

The graph for this week shows that H2S is being detected in the Shortland Street area, and this occurs at times when the wind is coming from the treatment plant itself rather than the direction of the ponds.

H2S detected at the Dog Shelter is likely to be coming from either Pond 1 or 4.

Where to get help

If you need health support, we have information available on our website. This includes information on Pegasus Health's Partnership Community Workers and contact numbers for Healthline and counselling services.

Stay updated

We want everyone to be able to stay updated on our response and recovery from the treatment plant fire, and we regularly post new information and reports on ccc.govt.nz/wastewaterfire 

You're welcome to send this update to your networks. If you know someone in the community who doesn’t have email or internet access, please print this newsletter off and pass it to them.

If you know of anyone who would like to receive this e-newsletter they can subscribe online. 

If you have any questions, or would like further information on the project, please call us on 03 941 8999 or 0800 800 169 or email wastewater@ccc.govt.nz  

Thanks for your patience and understanding. We’ll be in touch again soon.