Ōpōtiki. Photo / NZME
Although one source of odours plaguing Ōpōtiki residents has been located and rectified, there are still complaints about a bad smell in the town.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council regulatory compliance team leader Trudy Richards said an abatement notice had been issued to Whakatōhea Mussels (Opotiki) Ltd for breaching its consent in relation to wastewater quality discharge limits.
The notice required the mussel factory to cease exceeding the consented limits immediately.
“This is an ongoing investigation, however, and further enforcement action is possible,” Richards said.
Since December 18, there had been 32 odour-related complaints concerning the Ōpōtiki area, 25 of them during February. Almost half had been directed at the Whakatōhea Mussels factory.
A trade wastewater treatment tank at the mussel factory had been identified by the regional council as one odour source.
Richards said on February 24, a compliance officer visited the factory to assess the remedial works completed on the wastewater treatment tank. The system was functioning correctly and new deodorising equipment had been installed.
However, the factory was still being included in investigations.
The rules within the regional council’s Regional Natural Resources Plan, which manages odour, state it should not be offensive or objectionable beyond the property boundary.
“During the assessment, odour levels directly over the treatment tanks were found to be minor,” Richards said.
However, foul odours were still being experienced in Ōpōtiki.
An open letter directed to the regional council was posted on Facebook community pages on Tuesday morning saying the odour problem persisted.
“To be frank, this is beyond a joke.
“The situation has gone on for far too long, and it’s unacceptable that our community continues to suffer due to the lack of effective action,” community page administrator Maude Maxwell said.
She demanded the regional council take the matter seriously.
Immediate actions were needed to investigate the source of the odour, implement measures to mitigate the issue and provide a plan to prevent future occurrences. She also expressed fears that there could be pollution seeping into the town’s rivers causing further environmental issues.
She described the odour as “a sickening smell like dead carcasses”.
The post received 62 comments from local people affirming the smell persisted before commenting was turned off.
Richards said other complaints had been directed towards smokey fires, the wastewater treatment plant ponds, and the town’s stormwater drainage network, which has experienced minor blockages and stagnant water due to prolonged dry weather.
“However, substantiating these odours has been challenging due to the intermittent nature of the notifications and odours and varying locations of the alleged sources.”
Proactive monitoring was also being carried out in the evenings this week.
“We acknowledge that Whakatohea Mussels is responsible for some of the odour complaints. However, due to the variability in the origin of complaints and wind conditions, we are aware that there are other sources contributing to the issue as well,” she said.
Ōpōtiki District Council service and delivery group manager Nathan Hughes said staff were working with the regional council around the ongoing complaints.
“Council have been monitoring our wastewater system and no issues have been picked up. During extended periods of dry weather, stormwater drains can start to produce a smell and staff are also exploring that as a potential contributing factor.
“Although nothing definitive has been observed in council’s stormwater network we do have a particular concern around the condition of Duke St drain and the smell coming from it.”
District council staff were meeting with the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and the mussel factory this week to discuss the matter.
“Getting these odour issues resolved is important to our community and we’re doing all that we can to assist Bay of Plenty Regional Council in their investigations as well as seeking out any areas that we control which may be contributing,” Hughes said.
Richards encouraged anyone noticing an offensive odour to call the 24/7 Pollution Hotline on 0800 884 883 at the time of the event.
“This allows us to respond promptly and investigate all complaints against the conditions at the time. We can’t have staff everywhere, all of the time, so we count on the community to help resolve these issues.”
Whakatōhea Mussels has been approached for a comment.
- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.