Bromley smell
We’re aware that many parts of central Ōtautahi Christchurch are currently experiencing a spike in unpleasant smells coming from the Christchurch Wastewater Treatment Plant in Bromley.
We have requested Christchurch City Council (CCC) to provide confirmation of the actions they are taking and timeframes to rectify the current situation and address the smells. This will also include a requirement for CCC to set out the proactive actions they will take to mitigate the potential for any future smell issues.
As the regional council, managing and monitoring discharges to air is part of our responsibilities as a regulator under the Resource Management Act (RMA) and the Canterbury Air Regional Plan.
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You can also find more information about our enforcement action on our web page.
Reports of smells in Bromley
We regularly share our reporting with the community about offensive smells in the Bromley area and also send a monthly newsletter to subscribers.
The following graph shows the number of smell reports we've received via phone, email, Smelt-it app or Snap Send Solve for the last six months.
Business hours of the compliance team are 8am-4.30pm, Monday to Friday.
After hours means weekdays outside of business hours, as well as weekends and public holidays. During these times, only serious events are attended.
Smell characteristics reported in Bromley
The following graph shows the smell characteristic category we've received via phone, email, Smelt-it app or Snap Send Solve for the last six months.
Our reporting covers all smell characteristics including:
- compost, silage, cut grass, herbal
- faecal/sickening, sewer
- other definitions - fragrant, perfumy, sweet, rubbish, meaty, rancid, dead animal, decayed, sea/marine, fishy, smoky, woody, resinous, gasoline, solvent, oily, soapy, chemical, paint-like, cooked food, coffee, bakery.
Note: Some community reports cover multiple smell characteristics (e.g. one report may note compost-type and sewer-type odour).
Monthly summaries
January 2026
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.
December 2025~~
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.
November 2025
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.
October 2025
In October, we received 11 smell complaints from the Bromley community. Of these, nine were received through the Smelt-it application. Five complaints were received during business hours, and six were received outside of business hours.
One of the reports was related to compost, one was related to sewage/faecal and seven were related to other smell.
This month, staff did not conduct any proactive odour monitoring in the Bromley community. There were no incidents 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.
September 2025
In September, we received four smell complaints from the Bromley community. All of these were received through the Smelt-it application. One complaint was received during business hours, and three were received outside of business hours.
The smell reports were related to sewage/faecal and ‘other’ smell. None were related to compost.
This month, staff did not conduct any proactive smell monitoring in the Bromley community. There were no incidents 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.
August 2025
In August, we received eight smell complaints from the Bromley community. Of these, six were received through the Smelt-it application. Two complaints were received during business hours, and six were received outside of business hours.
The smell reports were related to sewage/faecal and ‘other’ smell. None were related to compost.
Our staff spent 45 minutes in the Bromley community responding to complaints and undertaking proactive smell monitoring. During this time, we attended two incidents, but none were 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.
July 2025
In July, we received six smell complaints from the Bromley community. Of these, three were through the Smelt-it application. Two complaints were received during business hours, and the remaining four were outside of business hours.
The smell reports were related to sewage/faecal and ‘other’ smell. None were related to compost.
This month, staff did not conduct any proactive smell monitoring in the Bromley community. There were no incidents substantiated.
Christchurch City Council continue to review the actions being implemented under the mitigation plan submitted to us on 6 of March 2024 to address smell issues from the Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Christchurch wastewater treatment plant news, updates and meetings: Get the latest news and meeting reports on the wastewater treatment plant recovery.
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