Having a high standard of water on Christchurch City's coastal and estuary beaches is an important aim of the City Council as it works through the process of moving its treated wastewater outlet from the estuary to the ocean.

The Council is doing a survey of city residents, to seek their opinions about what quality level they expect as a result of the Ocean Outfall development. The Council is also working to explain the water quality it believes will be achieved once the Ocean Outfall is operating and all associated work is completed.

Work either completed or under way at the Wastewater Treatment Plant and throughout the city's sewerage system is already producing a high standard of treated wastewater. The Council is confident that this will be further improved by the proposed Ocean Outfall.

National water quality standards have been changed recently. In the past they were based on monitoring - taking water samples and doing scientific counts of some of the types of bugs which could indicate that swimmers or seafood-eaters may become ill. Now, the standards use some monitoring and also look at factors in the area which are likely to produce contamination such as birdlife in the area and stormwater run-off.

The grading system used today runs from Very Good to Very Poor. At the moment, using this system, all the beaches in the Avon-Heathcote Estuary and those from the estuary mouth to Scarborough are rated "poor" at best.

Moving the outfall to sea will make a big improvement in the estuary, according to experts hired by the Council to advise on the project. They expect that all beaches from New Brighton to Scarborough and those inside the estuary will be rated "Good" once the major sewer upgrades are finished and the Ocean Outfall is operating.

To have your say, please look on the web at www.ccc.govt.nz/oceanoutfall or call the Council on 941 8999 and ask for a submission form to be sent to you. Submissions must be in by 31 March 2004