The fire-damaged wastewater treatment plant. Photo: Christchurch City Council
People suffering from the putrid stench from the ponds of Bromley’s wastewater treatment plants may have to wait another three months for the odor to improve, Christchurch City Council says.
Council employees last night heard from parents whose children were vomiting and crying over the stench at a public meeting in South Brighton, while others warned of a possible class-action lawsuit.
Mother Samantha Fay said her children were sensitive to smell, so the putrid stench from the ponds had sickened her seven-year-old son.
“He’ll open the door to go out and vomit,” she said.
“He doesn’t want to go out anymore, he just stays in the house.”
Another mother, who declined to be named, said her children were distraught when the stench from the adjacent sewage treatment plant was at its worst.
“I make my kids cry at 10:30 PM because they can’t sleep because of the smell,” she said.
“They don’t go to school because they wake up with constant headaches and nausea. I have a daughter in year 13 and it affected her all year.”
Philip Duffey told council staff he was angry at the lack of practical help to deal with the health effects of the stench.
He said it was unreasonable for the council to admit that the smell caused headaches, nausea and disturbed sleep and yet expect people to pay to see a doctor or buy air purifiers.
“It’s your expense, it’s not ours. You are liable for it. You have to dig in your pockets and find it because you caused this damage that we are experiencing,” he said.
“Do we literally have to go get a lawyer, do we have to prepare a claim statement for you to take it seriously, so that you actually put something on the table that reflects the damage you’ve done?”
Duffey told RNZ that people were investigating whether there were grounds for some sort of class action, but it was ridiculous that they felt they should turn to lawyers for help.
“We’re expected to smell poop and accept that they do things to get rid of it in the long run, but nothing to help us now,” he said.
The Canterbury health official has said that long-term effects from exposure to hydrogen sulfide at current concentrations are extremely unlikely.
Councilors were told last week it could take at least six weeks for the odor from the oxidation ponds to improve, but Three Waters head Helen Beaumont said it could now take up to 12 weeks.
She said it would take time for the biological process to work in the new system and do the job of the two fire-damaged trickle filters.
“The cleaner wastewater will take another three to six weeks to flush through those ponds. So 12 weeks at worst, six weeks at best,” she said.
Beaumont said people concerned about their health should talk to their primary care physician.
“Hydrogen sulfide, while extremely unpleasant, is not like asbestos in terms of doing that long-term damage, nor is it like some of those environmental pollutants like lead that build up in your body,” she said.
“It’s terrible at the time, but once it’s gone, it won’t have any lasting effects.”
The municipality expects to receive the results of tests next week to determine the cause of paint stains and discolorations in people’s homes.