Seaview Odour Neutraliser Trial Shutdown

Following feedback from the community regarding the odour neutralisers at the Seaview Wastewater Treatment Plant, a trial shutdown was completed from Wednesday 4th December, to Wednesday 18th December.  Community feedback was collected throughout this period, and continued to be collected for two weeks once the odour neutralisers were turned back on to set a 'baseline' of responses. 

This was to help understand whether the smell is better, worse, or the same when the odour neutralisers are on, or off.  

Following the conclusion of the Odour Neutraliser Trial Shutdown and Survey on January 2nd, Wellington Water have made a recommendation to Hutt City Council that the odour neutralisers only be used at times when there is a significant risk of increased odour levels, i.e. when plant maintenance is being completed. Hutt City Council have agreed with this recommendation, effective immediately.  

Following a thorough review of all 258 survey responses, it became clear that survey results were inconclusive. 241 were received in the two weeks that the odour neutralisers were turned off, and 17 in the two weeks after the odour neutralisers were turned back on. There were many variables which influenced responses, like weather and plant operations/maintenance. Both have a significant impact on odour levels, and plant operations in particular improved significantly in the second half of the survey period.