Gulf Harbour stink relief coming

Gulf Harbour residents and business owners should have relief from ongoing noxious odours emanating from the Hobbs Bay Pump Station.

The site has been the subject of numerous complaints, and after an enquiry from Hibiscus Matters, Watercare’s head of wastewater, Jon Piggot advised they had found the source of the problem.

“Our wastewater pump stations have odour management systems to minimise smells from the gases that form in the network. “We found the original odour bed at our Hobbs Bay Pump Station was ineffective at managing odours, so late last year we installed temporary carbon filter units to combat the odours.

Recently we received odour complaints from members of the public. Our staff found the carbon pellets in the filter had deteriorated and needed to be replaced. They were replaced on Friday, August 29. We expect this to make a significant difference to the smell in the area.

We are also designing a significant upgrade that will include a new odour management system. We expect to complete this next year. Our ability to manage odours at Hobbs Bay will then be much more effective and stable going forward.

We apologise to the community for the unpleasant smell in the vicinity of the pump station and thank people for their patience while we’ve worked to address it.”