Residents packed a tense public meeting in Bromley last night, saying they had reached breaking point as the stench linked to the Christchurch wastewater treatment plant continued to disrupt their lives.

One man said families were paying the price every day.

“I have headaches every day. My son has sinus problems. We have people in our neighbourhood who have dizziness and light sensitivity,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Environment Canterbury Chair Deon Swiggs said in an interview with Chris Lynch Media nearly 4,000 complaints had now been lodged.

Swiggs said the city council owned the treatment plant and carried responsibility for ensuring it complied with consent conditions.

“The city council owns this asset. It is their asset. They need to do the compliance and make sure that as part of the consent conditions there is no odour leaving the boundary of the facility,” he said.

Another resident at Tuesday night’s meeting said people felt ignored and abandoned by authorities.

“You don’t tell us what you’re going to do to people who are suffering,” she said.

Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger attended the meeting and said an activator sludge treatment plant was due to be completed by the end of 2027.

The three year timeframe angered residents, who said waiting years for relief was unacceptable.

One woman said the smell was only part of a much longer pattern of environmental suffering.

“It’s not just the sewage. It has been the compost and plants. We’ve suffered for more than five years,” she said.

Residents also raised concerns for those unable to escape the smell.

“It’s all good for me to get in my car and drive across town or take my dog away from the stench. What about people who can’t leave,” she said.

Christchurch City Council said it was doing everything it could to mitigate the smell.

Residents said the assurances rang hollow and warned the community had had enough.