Mayor Annette Main said council had received calls and emails about this and other odours over the weekend. Some were not due to the wastewater treatment plant but reports suggested they may have been due to industrial activity around the Heads Rd area.
"I cannot promise a speedy solution to the current problems with the wastewater plant, but I can assure those affected that this is being treated as a very high priority. We will provide as much information as possible as progress is made on the problem."
Several residents in the Kaitoke area said the smell was so bad that they had to seal up their houses, and washing hanging on the line became tainted with it.
Grant Gaisford said the smell at his house on Kaitoke Rd was "rancid" and said his throat became sore because of it.
"When we brought the washing in off the line, everything had that smell. We have a major problem out here, and something needs to be done about it," Mr Gaisford said.
Barbara Hackett from Marybank said she had to virtually seal up her house over the weekend to try and keep the smell out.
She said what irritated her most was that the houses at Marybank were not connected to the city sewerage scheme.
Mrs Hackett was also angry that when she contacted the council to complain about the smell, she was told she needed to talk to Horizons Regional Council.
"What are they going to do about it? It's the council's responsibility."
Councillor Ray Stevens, chairman of the council's infrastructure and property committee, said he understood residents' concerns and wanted to work with them to fix the problem.
"Obviously, we're not doing 100 per cent and we need to deal with that."
Mr Stevens said he wanted to hold a public meeting with the affected residents.
Ms Main agreed, saying that as far as she knew there had never been a problem with the smell for Kaitoke and Marybank residents before.
No date for the meeting has been set.
