Ocean outfall thanks to longer term vision for estuary health

Environment Canterbury today congratulated the Christchurch City Council on the opening of its sewage outfall stretching 3 km into Pegasus Bay, off South Brighton.

“For many years the communities which enjoy the Christchurch estuary have been asking for the treated sewage from the Bromley plant to go directly out to sea, not out on the tide through the estuary,” said Environment Canterbury Cr Carole Evans, also a former Christchurch City Councillor. “This will allow the estuary to resume its normal estuarine functions, for people to use the estuary without fear of getting sick.

“Groups like the Avon-Heathcote/Ihutai Trust and others worked hard to achieve the longer term, sustainable outfall proposal. Six years ago the City Council rejected the recommendations of its own public consultation process and applied for a new consent to continue to discharge treated sewage into the estuary, as was the status quo. The city council's own working party had backed the public call for a cleaner estuary and recommended the ocean outfall option.

“The application for the new, long-term estuary discharge consent under the Resource Management Act was heard by an independent panel of four commissioners chaired by Dr Ed Wylie, representing Environment Canterbury. These four people represented engineering, structural, water quality and tangata whenua expertise. The decision was they would not grant a long-term consent for the discharge, just a five-year short-term consent. This enabled the City Council to obtain resource consent and construct the ocean outfall.

“We are glad to see that that commitment and long term vision of those members of the community who lobbied to get the sewage out of the estuary, as well as kayakers, windsurfers and yachtspeople who have so much to gain from a healthier estuary – have now been realised.

“The outfall is a good example of why regional councils are an important layer of local government, not afraid to look at the longer term, sustainable solutions. The value of separating the infrastructure provider from the independent regulator and consenting authority can be clearly seen in this case.

“The Waimakariri District Council has also recently built an ocean outfall for its treated sewage. These outfalls servicing the Waimakariri district towns and Christchurch City will give local estuaries and rivers a chance to recover from years of pollution. This will have a significant impact upon the health of local waterways like the Cam and Kaiapoi Rivers and the Avon-Heathcote Estuary/Ihutai. It is a direct response to community and tangata whenua calls over many years and there is much more work to be done in this area which the community wants addressed.”