What sort of outcomes do people expect when the city pipes its treated wastewater out to sea through a pipeline, going through a suburb and across one of its beaches? The Council is keen to know.

This follows its commitment to stop discharging Christchurch’s wastewater or effluent from the treatment plant at Bromley into the estuary, and instead pipe it out to sea.

Senior Planning Engineer John Moore says that before decisions are made about the proposed ocean outfall, the Council wants to hear from the community about its expectations and concerns.

“We need to know what Christchurch people in general, and Pegasus Bay residents in particular, expect in terms of water quality and beach standards,” Mr Moore says. “We also need to fully understand the impacts and disruption that a major project like this is likely to cause to the local community.”

Six South Brighton streets — Bridge, Beatty, Jellicoe, Caspian, Godwit and Heron streets — are being investigated as possible routes for the pipeline.

In October the Council agreed to the preparation of an Assessment of Environmental Effects for an ocean outfall via a pipeline no less than 2km long. This requires a full investigation into alternative routes, consultation with stakeholders and the provision of an effluent quality that minimises any adverse effects.

Open days were held in mid-February at the South Brighton Community Centre for people to find out more about the proposed ocean outfall and the investigation into pipe routes. The same information will be displayed locally and updated over the next few months so locals and visitors to the area can keep up with what’s going on.

Over the next few months, a series of meetings will be held with residents and businesses on the streets that may be affected directly.

“Following these meetings, it may be possible to identify one or two streets that warrant further investigation to confirm their suitability for the pipe route,” says Mr Moore.

“Even though a preferred route may be identified at that stage, this can’t be confirmed until other investigations such as the ocean current modelling are completed.”

The Council is expected to make a decision on the preferred pipeline route in principal later this year, once the submission phase and technical investigations are completed.

• Comments and enquiries from the public are welcome. Phone 941 8830 or see www.ccc.govt.nz/OceanOutfall