Tauranga City Council have apologised after complaints about a foul smell coming from Te Maunga Wastewater Treatment Plant following a pump failure.

A council spokesperson say the odour is quite unpleasant and, depending on the wind, is reaching beyond Te Maunga Lane and into the adjacent residential area.

A faulty pump was the cause of a bad smell in Te Maunga this week. Photo: File.

'The pump fault created problems with one of the wastewater treatment plant clarifiers, hence the odour,” says a statement from council.

'Staff were alerted to the problem on Tuesday. The fault was identified yesterday and has been fixed.

'We apologise for the bad odour. The system is back to working as normal and the smell will hopefully retreat over the next 24 hours.”