Work to repair clarifier leak starting

Essential repairs to one of the Christchurch Wastewater Treatment Plant’s four clarifiers could result in a period of increased odour.

On Monday 3 March work will begin to repair a leak in Clarifier 3. Sorting the leak will get the clarifier working at full capacity, which needs to happen ahead of more extensive work on Clarifier 4 planned for next summer.

Our temporary activated sludge plant will be reduced to 50% capacity to enable this work. This will result in increased load to the oxidation ponds, which may cause odour. The intensity and frequency of odour will be influenced by many factors including weather conditions.

We’re doing all we can to complete the repair as quickly as possible. We expect work to be complete by Tuesday 18 March.

Neighbours of the plant 

With construction of the new Activated Sludge Reactor around the corner we’ve set up a new page on our website – Information for neighbours of the plant. 

Alongside our usual public communications via Newsline, social media and our website, we’ll be keeping this page up to date with the latest information relevant to people living around the plant.

We're also planning on holding meetings for residents and businesses near the plant, where we share information about our on-site progress and upcoming works. These meetings will be a chance for us to check in, answer some of your questions, and provide some insight into what to expect over the next few months. We’re currently working on scheduling the first of these meetings, and will share the date in advance via this newsletter and our website.

Trickling filter demolition update

Demolition of Trickling Filter 1 is complete and Trickling Filter 2 is now also nearing completion. Work remains on track, and we expect to have both trickling filters entirely demolished by the end of March.

We're now planning to relocate power supply cables into the road. This will start in March and will be completed in early April. This is another part of the jigsaw of getting the site ready for construction.

Activated Sludge Reactor construction timeline 

A timeline showing expected demolition, design and construction milestones for the Activated Sludge Reactor is now available on our website.

Bird perches installed at oxidation ponds 

As part of our midge control programme, we’ve installed two new bird perches near the oxidation ponds. The perches encourage swallows to hang around the ponds hunting and eating midges.

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.