Nauseous odors poison the daily lives of residents

Living near a sewage treatment plant is not easy at all. For residents of Lower Hutt, a town located a few kilometers from New Zealand's capital, Wellington, an occasional inconvenience has turned into a real ordeal.

A festival is coming

As reported New Zealand HeraldResidents have already been suffering from unpleasant odors for more than two months. These odors come from work done at the nearby wastewater treatment plant to replace the biofilters needed to treat the wastewater. This is a project that should continue until next February.

However, the stench was so strong that some residents developed headaches and became ill. About a hundred complaints have been filed since October 31 seeking compensation. Wellington Regional Council has already taken action, imposing fines of nearly €40,000 on the station's owner, Wellington Water, its operator, French company Veolia, and the city's municipal council.

Reduce the intensity of odors

Residents fear that the situation will become more worrying in the coming weeks, he said guardian. In fact, the city is set to host a major hip-hop festival from January 5. An event in which several big names such as Ashanti, T-Pain and T.I. will participate, it is expected to attract several thousand visitors.

The mayor tried to reassure residents by announcing that this influx would not aggravate the situation. For its part, Veolia has installed machines to distribute deodorizing chemicals in an attempt to reduce the intensity of the odor.