The small township of Akaroa on the eastern tip of Banks Peninsula is in a quandary over the future of its wastewater system. The factors that make this difficult community issue unique to such a quaint, adorable Canterbury backwater resort are its large transient population of bach-owners from Christchurch City, its remoteness from provincial governance, and the steep-sided topography of the terrain that limits the amount of available space to deploy an adequate land application system as an alternative to the current discharge of treated waste to harbour.