Akaroa residents poo-poo new sewage ponds

Residents of tourist hotspot Akaroa are fighting a plan that could put sewage ponds near their homes.

The Christchurch City Council is considering installing them to stop treated wastewater pouring directly into the harbour on Banks Peninsula.

"We've heard horror stories about this - you know insects, like they get at Bromley, the smell - we don't know," Robinson's Bay resident Julian Calcutt told Newshub.

Akaroa is a popular destination for tourists and cruise ships. The harbour is home to the Hector's dolphin and where treated wastewater is dumped.

The current system sees the treated wastewater is poured right into the harbour. The consent to do that runs out in 2020, which means the council, in turn, is running out of time to find an alternative.

The council has come with three locations for sewage ponds - Takamatua, Pompeys Pillar and more recently, Robinson's Bay.

"We're certainly not picking on a particular community, we've looked very hard at all the possible options for where we can put this, and we really are very limited in opportunity," Christchurch City Council's Bridget O'Brien told Newshub.

Residents have their own ideas.

"Reusing the water back to Akaroa, with flushing toilets and watering the domains and so on, finding the nice environmental solution," Robinson's Bay resident Kevin Parthonnaud told Newshub.

Residents have until the end of the month to have their say and protect their own harbour hideaway.

Newshub.