Bromley odour
We regularly respond to reports from the community of offensive smells in the Bromley area. This page shows our latest monitoring information, including the number of reports we’ve received and any actions taken.
Reports of odour in Bromley
The following graph shows the number of odour 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.
Odour characteristics reported in Bromley
The following graph shows the odour characteristic category we've received via phone, email, Smelt-it app or Snap Send Solve for the last six months.
Our reporting covers all odour 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 odour characteristics (e.g. one report may note compost-type and sewer-type odour).
Incidents of odour in Bromley
The following graph shows the number of recorded odour incidents for the last six months. We use reports from the community to inform our record of when incidents occurred.
Recorded incident means one odour discharge event. There may be many reports from the community that all relate to a single odour event/incident.
Attended incident means incidents that were attended by a warranted compliance officer. Not all attended incidents will result in the officer detecting odour as conditions may have changed.
Outcomes
The following graph shows the outcomes of our investigations into substantiated incidents of odour for the last six months.
Why are some columns in this graph blank? Once an event is substantiated by a warranted officer, they take immediate action to prompt improved environmental outcomes. This could include education, immediate remediation, ongoing collaboration and technical advice, or a formal enforcement action. An enforcement action will not always appear in the same month as the relevant substantiated event, as investigations can span over multiple months.
Substantiated incident means that a warranted compliance officer detected an odour at the reported location, and after carrying out a 10-minute assessment, determined the odour to be offensive and objectionable.
Verified but compliant means the warranted compliance officer smelt something, but the odour was not considered offensive and objectionable. Therefore, the incident was not a breach of consent conditions or the Resource Management Act (RMA).
A notice of non-compliance means the warranted compliance officer substantiated an odour - and the notice is a confirmation that we believe that the consent conditions or the requirements of an abatement notice have not been met. It informs the alleged offender of the consequences of breaching the RMA.
An infringement notice is a written notice of an alleged infringement offence under the Resource Management Act, issued in accordance with the Summary Proceedings Act. An infringement notice requires the payment of a fee of an amount fixed by regulations. Payment of the fine does not lead to the recording of a criminal conviction. An infringement notice can be issued for an alleged breach of an abatement notice. Infringement notices are suitable for responding quickly to relatively moderate offences that do not warrant prosecution. Note that more than one infringement notice may be issued for a single odour event/incident.
Project work / Education refers to the number of hours we have spent in Bromley on education interventions and on the ground projects to address sources of odour.
Consent monitoring actions covers the hours spent by warranted compliance monitoring officers following up on resource consent matters and holding consent holders accountable for achieving compliance. This includes liaison meetings to discuss ongoing non-compliant matters, routine site inspections, desktop inspections, reviewing reports and providing advice.
Monthly summaries
October 2025~~
In October, we received 11 odour 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 odour.
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 odour issues from the Wastewater Treatment Plant.
September 2025
In September, we received four odour 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 odour reports were related to sewage/faecal and ‘other’ odour. None were related to compost.
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 odour issues from the Wastewater Treatment Plant.
August 2025
In August, we received eight odour 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 odour reports were related to sewage/faecal and ‘other’ odour. None were related to compost.
Our staff spent 45 minutes in the Bromley community responding to complaints and undertaking proactive odour 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 odour issues from the Wastewater Treatment Plant.
July 2025
In July, we received six odour 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 odour reports were related to sewage/faecal and ‘other’ odour. None were related to compost.
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 of March 2024 to address odour issues from the Wastewater Treatment Plant.
June 2025
In June, we received eight odour complaints from the Bromley community. Of these, four were through the Smelt-it application. Five complaints were received during business hours, and the remaining three were outside of business hours.
The odour reports were related to ‘sewage/faecal type’, ‘compost type’ and ‘other’ odour.
Our staff spent 1.5 hours in the Bromley community responding to complaints and undertaking proactive odour monitoring. During this time, we attended to two incidents – one of which was substantiated.
Christchurch City Council to review the actions being implemented under the mitigation plan submitted to us on 6 of March 2024 to address odour issues from the Wastewater Treatment Plant.
May 2025
In May, we received 35 odour complaints from the Bromley community. Of these, 31 were through the Smelt-it application. Seven complaints were received during business hours, and the rest were outside of business hours.
The odour reports were related to ‘sewage/faecal type’, ‘compost type’ and ‘other’ odour.
Our staff spent 6.5 hours in the Bromley community responding to complaints and undertaking proactive odour monitoring. During this time, we attended to five incidents – two of which were substantiated.
A formal warning was issued to Christchurch City Council's Waste Water Treatment Plant after an offensive odour event on Mecca Place was substantiated on 28 May.
We continue to have regular meetings with Christchurch City Council to review the actions being implemented under the mitigation plan submitted to us on 6 of March 2024 to address odour issues from the Wastewater Treatment Plant.
April 2025
In April, we received 26 odour complaints from the Bromley community. Of these, 25 were through the Smelt-it application. Eight complaints were received during business hours, and the rest were outside of business hours.
The odour reports were related to ‘sewage/faecal type’, ‘compost type’ and ‘other’ odour. Seven complaints were related to a fire that happened in Bromley on 7 April.
Our staff spent five hours in the Bromley community responding to complaints and undertaking proactive odour monitoring. During this time, we attended six incidents – none of which were substantiated. Odour was detected on one other occasion but was verified as compliant.
We continue to have regular meetings with Christchurch City Council to review the actions being implemented under the mitigation plan submitted to us on the 6 of March 2024 to address odour issues from the Wastewater Treatment Plant.
March 2025
In March, we received 26 odour complaints from the Bromley community. Of these, 24 were through the Smelt-it application. Three complaints were received during business hours, and the rest were outside of business hours.
The odour reports were related to ‘sewage/faecal type’, ‘compost type’ and ‘other’ odour.
Our staff spent 8.16 hours in the Bromley community responding to complaints and undertaking proactive odour monitoring. During this time we attended 11 incidents – none of which were substantiated. Odour was detected on four other occasions but was verified as compliant.
We continue to have regular meetings with Christchurch City Council to review the actions being implemented under the mitigation plan submitted to us on the 6th of March 2024 to address odour 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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