As the recovery effort in Christchurch heads into its third week, the City Council is slowly starting to get a hold on the cleanup.

Helped by volunteer groups from around the country and the world, the mission to clear the streets and suburbs of Christchurch city has been one of the few good news stories.

After the huge earthquake on the 22^nd of February, which devastated the city and claimed the lives of an estimated 200 people, the work to help those without power and water has been driven largely by rural volunteers.

The “farmy army” as they’ve been dubbed, has helped with volunteers and farm equipment to remove more than 200 thousand tonnes of silt and sand driven to the surface by liquefaction.

Federated Farmers Earthquake spokesman John Hartnell says now though, the city council has operations under control and they can take a back seat.

"We pulled back on Saturday night to slow it down, and it rained like hell so would have been terrible conditions on the Sunday.

"It would have also made it very awkward to operate."

Mr Hartnell says it’s been an incredible response from the Canterbury heartland, and they’re gearing up for one last big push, on the 18^th of March.

"We will be running little squads to go out and deal with the emergencies that need urgent requirements.

"Then on the 18^th – 20^th of March we will all get back together as a group and climb in and mop us as much as we can in those three days."

Mr Hartnell says there are still many people scared and trapped in their homes, as aftershocks continue to strike the region, and that should be the council’s first priority now.

Independent contractors though, are continuing to pump potable drinking water into tanks and reservoirs around the city free of charge.

Stephen Bleeker, of Bleeker contracting, says he’s still got 3 tankers working flat out, but the council has indicated they should have things under control soon.

"We still have 3 tankers now and the water is back on to about 70% of the city.

"Our tankers are still going out for about 16 hours a day, they are equipped with pumps so now they are just going to the sites and pumping water into the tanks."

Anyone looking to help in the effort or looking for assistance in cleaning up liquefaction is urged to call the fed’s quake number 0800 FARMING, or 0800 327 646.

For more details on the "Farmy Army", head to Federated Farmers website, here.