Community groups upset about wastewater rebuild plans
Audio, Radio New Zealand
Some Christchurch community groups say a programme to rebuild the city's wastewater and storm water systems to a pre-earthquake equivalent isn't good enough.
Some Christchurch community groups say a programme to rebuild the city's wastewater and storm water systems to a pre-earthquake equivalent isn't good enough.
The company which runs Christchurch's water and sewage systems says it expects supply and wastewater problems in the wake of the earthquake to appear for at least the next six months.
For many years the Heathcote-Avon estuary was the dumping ground for Christchurch's sewage. Then, in 2010, the wastewater was diverted well out to sea, via a long pipe. David Schiel from the University of Canterbury and John Zeldis from NIWA were investigating the effects of this diversion on the health of estuary when the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes happened, re-engineering both the estuary and their experiments.