Hazel Hampton, a resident from one of Christchurch's eastern suburbs, talking to a member of the New Zealand Army. Hazel Hampton is receiving a chemical toilet. Her suburb has been without water and power for over ten days.
Mike Hewson's installation, "Old Public Toilets", on the site of a demolished building on Hereford Street.
An image from a Army News March 2011 photo compilation titled, "All in a Days Work". The image is captioned, "Army Driver Section Commander 3 Transport CPL Andrew Eddington and Driver PTE Shay Heketa delivered chemical toilets to Eastern suburbs which were without water and power for over 10 days".
An image from a Army News March 2011 article titled, "Transport". The image shows Mr Coril, a resident from one of Christchurch's eastern suburbs, filing out paperwork for a member of the New Zealand Army. Mr Coril is receiving a chemical toilet. His suburb has been without water and power for over ten days.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "A tank for collecting waste from chemical toilets in Alice Street, Horseshoe Lake".
Shipping containers and a portable toilet outside the Victoria clock tower on the corner of Montreal and Victoria Streets.
A tent and portable toilets on Manchester Street. The old Post Office building and High Street buildings can be seen in the distance.
A photograph of street art on the side of the toilet block at Waltham Park and Pool. The artwork is part of Project Legit.
A photograph of street art on the side of the toilet block at Waltham Park and Pool. The artwork is part of Project Legit.
A photograph submitted by Jade Montagu to the QuakeStories website. The description reads, "One of the many portable toilets which lined damaged suburban streets.".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "A large septic tanks on the side of Gloucester Street which householders can use to empty their chemical toilets".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Kingsford Street. Look at the number of Port-a-loos and the tanks for emptying chemical toilets in this street".
A photograph of Whole House Reuse item 267. This item was salvaged from 19 Admiral Way in New Brighton as part of the Whole House Reuse project.
A thumbnail photograph of Whole House Reuse item 267, cropped for the catalogue. This item was salvaged from 19 Admiral Way in New Brighton as part of the Whole House Reuse project.
A digital photograph in PDF format with caption. A Horseshoe Lake resident emptying chemical toilet into waste tank that sits on the side of the road (Kingsford St).
A buried septic tank on Avonside Drive. These tanks were installed in front of Avonside properties to allow residents to use their toilets after the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
A photograph of a sign on a portaloo in Latimer Square. The sign reads, "Do not dispose of dust masks in the toilet/bathroom, as they are blocking pumps".
A buried septic tank on Galbraith Avenue in Avonside. These tanks were installed in front of Avonside properties to allow residents to use their toilets after the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
A buried septic tank on Galbraith Avenue in Avonside. These tanks were installed in front of Avonside properties to allow residents to use their toilets after the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
A buried septic tank on Maling Street in Avonside. These tanks were installed in front of Avonside properties to allow residents to use their toilets after the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
A buried septic tank on Robson Avenue in Avonside. These tanks were installed in front of Avonside properties to allow residents to use their toilets after the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
A buried septic tank on Robson Avenue in Avonside. These tanks were installed in front of Avonside properties to allow residents to use their toilets after the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
A buried septic tank on Maling Street in Avonside. These tanks were installed in front of Avonside properties to allow residents to use their toilets after the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
A buried septic tank on Maling Street in Avonside. These tanks were installed in front of Avonside properties to allow residents to use their toilets after the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
A buried septic tank on Robson Avenue in Avonside. These tanks were installed in front of Avonside properties to allow residents to use their toilets after the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
The greater Wellington region, New Zealand, is highly vulnerable to large earthquakes. While attention has been paid to the consequences of earthquake damage to road, electricity and water supply networks, the consequences of wastewater network damage for public health, environmental health and habitability of homes remain largely unknown for Wellington City. The Canterbury and Kaikōura earthquakes have highlighted the vulnerability of sewerage systems to disruption during a disaster. Management of human waste is one of the critical components of disaster planning to reduce faecal-oral transmission of disease and exposure to disease-bearing vectors. In Canterbury and Kaikōura, emergency sanitation involved a combination of Port-a-loos, chemical toilets and backyard long-drops. While many lessons may be learned from experiences in Canterbury earthquakes, it is important to note that isolation is likely to be a much greater factor for Wellington households, compared to Christchurch, due to the potential for widespread landslides in hill suburbs affecting road access. This in turn implies that human waste may have to be managed onsite, as options such as chemical toilets and Port-a-loos rely completely on road access for delivering chemicals and collecting waste. While some progress has been made on options such as emergency composting toilets, significant knowledge gaps remain on how to safely manage waste onsite. In order to bridge these gaps, laboratory tests will be conducted through the second half of 2019 to assess the pathogen die-off rates in the composting toilet system with variables being the type of carbon bulking material and the addition of a Bokashi composting activator.
A worker poses with the truck he has been using to drain the septic tanks installed in front of Avonside properties to allow residents to use their toilets after the 4 September 2010 earthquake.
A photograph of Whole House Reuse item 127. This item was salvaged from 19 Admiral Way in New Brighton as part of the Whole House Reuse project.
A photograph of Whole House Reuse item 268. This item was salvaged from 19 Admiral Way in New Brighton as part of the Whole House Reuse project.
A thumbnail photograph of Whole House Reuse item 127, cropped for the catalogue. This item was salvaged from 19 Admiral Way in New Brighton as part of the Whole House Reuse project.