Pump station plan angers neighbour

A Dallington resident is angry she's getting a wastewater pump as her new neighbour.

The new pump, which is part of SCIRT's wastewater network rebuild, is being built next door to Denise Barker's Gayhurst Rd property

And she has major concerns over the devaluation and damage it will cause to her Dallington home.

"There's been no consultation with residents apart from a letter box drop SCIRT did in April which was the only way I found about it. The letter had a map showing where the new pump station would go.

"There will be weeks of sheet piling, which we've had on the road and the whole house just shakes like an earthquake all the time. You come home and you have to straighten up pictures on the wall.

"I realise that most of it will go underground so there will be vibrations, excavation, shaking and dust - causing damage to my house. A 1.5m green power kiosk will be put up which makes a humming noise all the time.

"They will be ripping out trees, pulling my fence out and building another one. I visited a station several times but I still wasn't happy about it. It all has to be fenced off and people will go there at night and vandalise it. It's ridiculous," she said.

Ms Barker had engaged a lawyer, tried to talk to the city council and has taken it to the Ombudsman, with no result.

This new wastewater station has put a hold on Ms Barker's plans to move to Redwood or Papanui next year.

"Who's going to want to buy my house when there's a wastewater pump going next door to it. I know I wouldn't. And what happens if there's another earthquake, is it going to explode. You work hard all your life to get debt free and then they decide to build this. I could cope with it if it was going down the back or further over. I will be able to reach out and touch it from my window."

City council infrastructure rebuild leader Will Doughty said there wasn't a reasonable alternative location for the new pump station.

"The new pump station on Gayhurst Rd is required to serve a large wastewater catchment currently serviced by a single pump station in Dallington. A large part of that catchment, including the original pump station site, is on damaged land in the residential red zone. The bulk, about 90 per cent, of the pump station is located below ground, so noise from the pump station will be negligible. Pump stations such as this are common in modern subdivisions and are often located next to residential allotments."

Mr Doughty said SCIRT have worked with the nearest neighbour to ensure residents are informed about the work, including organising a visit to a similar pump station to show how a functioning system looks and sounds.

"The council and SCIRT have offered to landscape around the pump station to shield it from the view of its neighbouring property," he said.