A fishy smell is dogging some Geraldine residents.

When a resident recently raised a complaint about a strange odour which had  been lingering around the town for years, many other residents chimed in.

Real estate agent Gretchen Gould raised the issue on an online community page after she had one set of buyers mention it while she was showing them around a property.

“They had noticed it and wanted to know where it came from.”

Her post drew many comments from residents pondering on where it had originated from, with some people suspecting it was the town’s oxidation ponds.

Mrs Gould said she had smelt the odour in other years, “but this year is really bad”.

“I originally thought it was the farmer across the river putting muck on his paddocks as fertiliser.

“But if it is the poo ponds then that makes me really worried, as how good is the smell going to be for our health?

“If you leave your house open it permeates all through it.”

Environment Canterbury manager compliance Jennifer Rochford said the organisation had received a number of odour complaints from south of Geraldine that described a ‘fishy’ smell.

“A compliance team member has attended several times to investigate, Ms Rochford said.

“We have ruled out the wastewater treatment plant as the source, on the basis of wind direction and the character of the odour, but have so far been unable to confirm the cause or source.”

People who detected an objectionable odour could call 0800 765 588 or report it through ECan’s website.

Ms Rochford said details such as where and when the smell occurred, weather conditions, a description of the strength and character of the odour itself would help the organisation to narrow it down.

“And your details in case we need to follow up.”

“Each report helps us identify patterns and decide whether an officer should investigate further and if so, when conditions are most likely to lead to a recurrence.”

shelley.inon@alliedmedia.co.nz