Bromley smell

In April, we received 118 reports from affected residents in the Bromley community. Of these, 117 reports were received through the Smelt‑It application.

24 Smelt‑It reports were received during business hours, while 93 were received outside of business hours.

Following thousands of reports from residents about the strong, sewage-like smell affecting east and central suburbs, we issued an abatement notice to Christchurch City Council (CCC) on 26 February 2026.

This notice required CCC to demonstrate how it was addressing the odour issues at the wastewater treatment plant.

CCC submitted its response to the abatement notice on Tuesday 16 March 2026.  Since then, Environment Canterbury compliance staff have worked with an independent wastewater engineering expert to rigorously assess the information provided, and determine whether it met the requirements of the abatement notice.
 
We have now received the independent assessment, which confirms that CCC has met all conditions of the abatement notice and has taken meaningful action to reduce odour.

Based on this assessment, we have determined that the legal requirements of the abatement notice have been met. On Tuesday 5 May, we formally advised CCC of this decision, shared the key findings from the independent report and cancelled the abatement notice.

While the abatement notice has been lifted, this does not mean the issue is resolved. 

We will continue active compliance monitoring of CCC’s operation of the fire‑damaged plant as it progresses delivery of longer‑term solutions. CCC will be held accountable for delivering its agreed actions, and further enforcement action will be taken if required.

In March, we received 315 reports from affected residents in the Bromley community. Of these, 309 reports were received through the Smelt‑It application.

58 Smelt‑It reports were received during business hours, while 251 were received outside of business hours.

On 16 March 2026, Christchurch City Council supplied the information requested in the abatement notice. Our compliance team is now working urgently with a wastewater specialist to assess the plan and ensure it meets the expectations set out in the notice.

This information follows the abatement notice issued to Christchurch City Council in February 2026 for failing to provide an adequate action plan to address the persistent odour originating from the fire‑damaged Christchurch Wastewater Treatment Plant in Bromley.

In February, we received 2184 reports from affected residents in the Bromley community. Of these, 2092 of were received through the Smelt-it application.

496 of these Smelt-It reports were received during business hours, while 1596 were received outside of business hours.

On 26 February 2026, Environment Canterbury issued Christchurch City Council an abatement notice for failing to provide an adequate action plan to address the persistent stench coming from the fire-damaged Christchurch Wastewater Treatment Plant in Bromley.

Christchurch City Council has supplied the information that was requested in the abatement notice. We are now working through the detail.

In January, Christchurch City Council (CCC) notified Environment Canterbury that poor pond health was resulting in a significant increase in odour from the Christchurch Wastewater Treatment Plant in Bromley.

We received 767 reports from affected residents in Bromley, as well as across the wider Christchurch area.

Environment Canterbury has contacted CCC, informing them of their non-compliance with their air discharge consent conditions. CCC is required to outline how it will stop the smell and what its plan is for the future.

Our priority is to ensure the odours are controlled as quickly as possible. We have issued a formal request for CCC to provide confirmation of the actions they are taking, along with the timeframes for rectifying the situation and addressing the odour.

In December, we received 33 smell complaints from the Bromley community. Of these, 28 were received through the Smelt-it application. Three complaints were received during business hours, and 25 were received outside of business hours.

One of the reports was related to compost, 26 were related to sewage/faecal and one was related to other smell.

This month, staff spent three hours in the Bromley community responding to complaints. They attended three incidents and one of these was substantiated.

Christchurch City Council continue to review the actions being implemented under the mitigation plan submitted to us on 6 March 2024 to address smell issues from the Wastewater Treatment Plant.

In November, we received 27 smell complaints from the Bromley community. Of these, 25 were received through the Smelt-it application. Three complaints were received during business hours, and 24 were received outside of business hours.  
 
One of the reports was related to compost, 16 were related to sewage/faecal and nine were related to other smell. 
 
This month, staff did not conduct any proactive smell monitoring in the Bromley community. Staff attended one incident, but it was not substantiated.

Christchurch City Council continue to review the actions being implemented under the mitigation plan submitted to us on 6 March 2024 to address odour issues from the Wastewater Treatment Plant.