UPDATE 5: 21/9, 12pm

Thank you again for your patience and understanding as we’ve worked to complete these repairs.

As previously communicated, the majority of work has been completed and the dryer has been brought back online.

Our latest assessment shows that additional sludge trucking is required to reduce the backlog of sludge completely and maintain the health and balance of the plant. We expect to be trucking sludge until the end of next week (approximately September 28th). We will assess this again after a few days, and advise you directly if anything changes.

Removing this remaining sludge backlog will help us continue to protect the biological process of the plant, and reduce the risk of any longer-term odour.

We appreciate the impact that odour can have on the community. We want to assure you that our odour surveys indicate that the increased odour is directly related to the wet sludge being unloaded. The following risk mitigations remain in place:

- Temporary shielding around the sludge load out area to act as a wind break

- The sludge is being well wrapped to reduce the risk of any odour getting out.

- The odour neutraliser will be used as needed

- Odour surveys are underway to monitor odour

If you have any questions or would like to receive these notifications via email, please reach out to community@wellingtonwater.co.nz

----------------------------------

UPDATE 4: 10am, 18/9

Thank you again to the community for your patience and understanding as we have worked to complete this repair.

The majority of the work has been completed, which has allowed us to bring the dryer back online. However, to address the remaining backlog of wet sludge that built up while the dryer was offline, we will continue to load out and truck sludge to the Silverstream Landfill until approximately the end of this week. This will protect the biological process and help make sure the plant remains healthy and balanced.

UPDATE 3: 5pm, 15/9

Kia ora koutou,

A brief update to advise that repairs are ongoing, and sludge continues to be trucked to Silverstream landfill. The biological process of the plant remains balanced, and we are continuing to monitor it closely. Onsite surveys indicate that any increase in odour is coming from the sludge load-out process, as expected.

Thank you again for your patience as we complete this important work.

----------------------------------

UPDATE 2: 10am, 12/9

Sludge load-out will begin slightly earlier than previously advised, between 11-12 noon today.

We expect that this first load-out will be the most odourous, as the sludge has aged while the dryer has been offline. We are doing all we can to reduce the risk of this impacting the community, and apologise for any odour you may experience.

Work on the repair will continue over the weekend.

----------------------------------

UPDATE 1: 9:45am 11/9

We can confirm that sludge will begin to be unloaded tomorrow afternoon.

The below risk mitigations are in place:

- Temporary shielding has been put up around the sludge load out area to act as a wind break

- The sludge will be well wrapped to reduce the risk of any odour getting out.

- The odour neutraliser will be used as needed

- Odour surveys are underway to monitor odour

However, the first sludge loadout is expected to be the most odourous, as the wet sludge itself has been stored for a few days and will have aged. We expect further loadouts to be less odourous.

The biological process itself remains within acceptable levels, and is being closely managed.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we complete this vital repair.

---------------------------------

Kia ora Seaview,

To complete an urgent repair, the sludge dryer has been taken offline. To protect the health and balance of the plant, sludge needs to be unloaded at the Seaview Wastewater Treatment Plant and transported to Silverstream Landfill. At this stage, we expect this work to begin later this week, and be completed by the end of next week.

When the sludge is unloaded, this can cause a temporary increase in odour. We anticipate the first loadout to be the most odourous, as the sludge being unloaded will have aged while being stored. We’re doing all we can to reduce the impact this has on the community, by:

- Putting up scaffolding around the loading zone to limit the spread of odour

- Making sure that the trucks transporting the sludge will be well-covered

- Using odour neutralisers when we need to

- Surveying the plant and the surrounding community to monitor odour

We’re also keeping a close watch on the plant's biological process – this is key to reducing the risk of any long-term odour issues. We’re working hard to keep the plant healthy, and unloading this sludge will help us to do exactly that!

If anything changes, we’ll let you know. Otherwise, we’ll update you when the work is complete.

Unloading and trucking wet sludge helps to protect the health of the plant, which reduces the risk of the biological process becoming unbalanced. If the sludge is left to build up, the process can be significantly impacted. This could result in the long-term increase in odour. 

While the dryer is back online, our latest assessment shows that additional sludge trucking is required to reduce the backlog of sludge completely and maintain the health and balance of the plant. We expect to be trucking sludge until the end of next week (approximately September 28th). We will assess this again after a few days, and advise you  if anything changes.

While the sludge is loaded onto trucks, there may be a short-term increase in odour. We expect that the first loadout will be the most odourous, as the sludge has aged while being stored. We are doing all we can to reduce the impact of odour on the community. While unloading the sludge causes a short-term increase in the risk of odour, it actually reduces the risk of long-term odour, by protecting the biological process from becoming unbalanced. 

We’ll let you know if the timeframe changes, and once the repair is complete and the dryer is back online.