Mayor says Lower Hutt sewage stench may never be fixed unless new plant built

Friday, 4 October 2024

The future of the Seaview Wastewater Treatment Plant is in doubt after Lower Hutt mayor Campbell Barry said the odour issues could be unfixable.

Barry posted the news on the social media group Stop the Stench after Wellington Water suspended all planned maintenance and upgrade activities that could contribute to additional odour levels at the plant. Wellington Water noted the stink was getting worse, not better.

“My job is to be straight up with people,” Barry said in the post. “Unfortunately the problem will never be fixed completely until we build a new treatment plant. But we can, and we are, doing work to mitigate the odour issues at Seaview.”

Stop the Stench is a social media group set up by residents fed up with the stinky treatment plant. Recent reports said it can be smelt in Naenae and Taitā, seven km to the north.

On Stop the Stench, the mayor also moved to support Wellington Water, which had come under prolonged attack from residents angered by the recent increase in odour.

“Wellington Water is not fit for purpose, and that’s not because they are incompetent, it’s because they have been set up to fail with their structure. I’ve been doing all I can to change that …”

Barry said the problem with the Seaview plant, reflected what is happening across the country with Three Waters.

“Raw sewage spilling into the Porirua harbour, houses not being built in the Wairarapa due to sewage plants being at capacity, boil water notices due to shit in the water in many rural/provincial districts.”

Much of the blame, he said, lay with the Government.

“I fully supported a complete reform to how we maintain and deliver our three waters infrastructure without bankrupting ratepayers. That was the previous government’s Three Waters programme. Ironically, a programme that some of the commentators on this post opposed and called racist.”

He accepted that ultimately he, as mayor, was responsible.

“So yup, the buck stops with me. I agree. Don’t vote for me in the next election, and vote for someone who says they will fix the problem for you. They will probably also tell you that they can build a new Treatment Plant for free — return to the voodoo economics that put all of us in this quagmire with our water infrastructure.”

Wellington Water issued a statement on Thursday evening apologising for the odour and said it was doing everything possible to reduce odour.

“We have suspended work on all planned maintenance and upgrade activities that could contribute to additional odour levels at the Seaview Wastewater Treatment Plant. We are also exploring options to improve odour levels, including installing another odour neutraliser.”

The odour had caused distress for businesses and residents.

“We appreciate the current odour level is not acceptable and regret it is taking longer than we would like to minimise impact on the community.”

Reports from residents received on Thursday emphasised how strong the odour levels had become, the statement said.

“We are working as fast as possible and doing all that we can to bring odour levels down. The backlog of sludge in the process is reducing, but it will take time for the biological processes to remove the bacteria that is causing the increased odour.”

Over the last week residents had reported feeling nauseous and gagging, and that the smell is getting inside houses.

Wellington Water chair Nick Leggett said he agreed with Barry about the future of the plant.

In the long run, the new entity replacing Wellington Water would have to look at the issue of building a replacement plant.

Wellington Water’s immediate focus was on finding a solution to reduce the impact on neighbours.

“This is impacting people’s daily life and work, and at home, in the short term we have to find a solution.”

Greater Wellington Regional council chair Daran Ponter said that the regulatory body, Greater Wellington, would be taking a close look at the current situation. It is the responsibility of the Upper and Hutt City councils to fund the plant, so it can meet the terms of its consent.

As well as the odour issues, the plant has ongoing issues regarding discharges into the Waiwhetū Stream.

The problems had been known for some time and Ponter said Wellington Water should be looking at options for a new plant.

Barry’s comments did not go down well with one person who works in Seaview who posted on Stop the Stench. “The building reeks.”

Staff were off on sick leave due to headaches, watery eyes and nausea. She lives nearby and said the smell was impossible to escape.

“Unable to even use the heat pump windows and doors all shut tight and it STINKS outside and it’s getting into the house even with everything shut.“