Sewer clearing reaches milestone

Clearing of silt and sand from city wastewater pipes is progressing well and the Christchurch City Council will today start contacting residents who no longer need to use their chemical toilets.

An information flyer will be delivered to around 860 households today (Thursday 5 May), letting residents know that the sewer in their part of the street has been cleared of silt and sand and is now working, and they no longer need to use their chemical toilet. This message will be rolled-out on a street-by-street basis throughout the chemical toilet distribution area as sewer clearing work is completed.

Around 30,000 chemical toilets have been distributed to the worst-affected area of the city where sewers were damaged and/or were full of silt. This distribution area can be viewed here. People in this area who were given a chemical toilet and have not received a notice in their letterbox stating they can start using their normal toilet again are asked to continue to use the chemical toilet.

A map indicating the households which were today told they no longer need to use their chemical toilet is available at the website above and will be updated continually as households are added.

Council Water and Waste Unit Manager Mark Christison says more streets will be informed in coming weeks as they are able to start using their household toilets again.

“The silt and sand clearing is progressing steadily now and we want to release as houses as quickly as possible from the need to use their chemical toilet.

“It is important to us to restore water and waste services to homes as quickly as possible. I understand that the past two months have been difficult for people living in the worst-affected areas and I would like to thank everyone for their patience. The sewer network in this area was badly clogged with silt and sand and was in a fragile state.

“Please know that your efforts have helped ease the pressure on our damaged sewer network while the system was cleared of sand and silt. This is a major step forward in returning sewerage services and the city is also identifying sewers that need repair and replacement. To completely repair sewers to their pre-September 2010 condition is going to take several years.

“We continue to ask all Christchurch residents to control their water use. Please remember that everything that goes down your household drains ends up in our wastewater network and adds pressure to the system. By following simple water conservation measures such as reducing your shower time, only washing when you have a full load and flushing sparingly, you are doing your bit to help,” Mr Christison says. Residents are reminded that a total ban on garden irrigation is still in place.

Households that receive a notice in their letterbox informing them they no longer need to use their chemical toilet are asked to check that their toilet is flushing properly and that the water is draining away from their property. If there are any problems, they can contact the Council call centre on 941 8999. 

Mr Christison says residents in these areas are asked to keep their chemical toilet and spare chemicals handy. The toilet can be cleaned out if any bleach type cleaner (Janola) and then flushed and stored. Although silt and sand has been cleared from the sewers, if there are further aftershocks or wet weather, it is possible the damaged street sewer pipes may need further cleaning operations until permanent repairs can be implemented.