The Whanganui mayor says pumping sludge from the city's failing wastewater treatment plant out to sea is not a solution.
The Whanganui District Council is working through options to fix the awful smells coming from the treatment plant, which have caused distress and frustration to residents for more than three months.
Mayor Annette Main says wastewater experts Cardno BTO have advised that pumping the sludge to sea will have a massive detrimental effect because of the heavy metals in it, and will not fix the smell.
She says the only reason to do it would be if an extremely large amount of waste came into the plant, making the odour worse.
Last month, wastewater was diverted to the sea after high levels of hydrogen sulphide affected the Beach Road pumping station.
