Odour can come from many sources including spear pumps, septic tanks, compost heaps, rotting vegetation, fertilisers and rubbish. Sometimes odour can affect neighbours and interfere with their normal activities. If severe enough, it can impact on people's health.

General odour

You can reduce odour by:

• keeping your yard tidy – rubbish and vegetation can create an odour
• considering weather conditions before applying fertilisers – try to avoid windy days and wet days
• covering or enclosing your compost and turning regularly.

Septic tank odour

You can reduce septic tank odour by:

• perform regular maintenance on your septic tank system and pump it out when needed
• not putting paints, hazardous chemicals, cigarette butts, pet bath water and sanitary napkins down the drain
• not washing grease, fats and oils down your kitchen sink - use environmentally friendly products with low sodium
• making sure the septic trenches and effluent irrigation system is working correctly and not leaking or ponding effluent over the ground
• ensuring there are no cracks in the septic tank lid and grease traps.

Spear pump odour

You can reduce spear pump odour by:

• making sure the pump is sealed and free of cracks
• regularly removing the slime or chemical sludge from the spear pump screens
• avoiding using a sprinkler - use a hand-held hose with a large droplet setting or a soaker hose facing downwards into the soil.

Fact sheets

• odour fact sheet
• septic tank odour fact sheet
• spear pump odour fact sheet