Chase residents are now breathing easier.
Village public works staff were able to staunch the stench coming from the sewage lagoons, giving residents a welcome reprieve.
On May 16, the Village of Chase Facebook page had informed residents that public works staff were taking steps to get rid of the odour.
“We realize the plant is still generating odours and we understand how uncomfortable this is. Our public works staff have made some adjustments to allow for additional oxygen to be pumped into the lagoons. In addition, we have ordered an organic product that will be added into the lagoons as soon as it arrives later this week, to help the bacteria work better,” stated the Facebook post.
Despite those efforts, a petition was circulated in the community, urging mayor and council to solve the problem as soon as possible.
Related: Unusually nasty odour repulses Chase residents
Joni Heinrich, the village’s chief administrative officer, confirmed the smell hadn’t reached such loathsome levels in years.
She says the public works staff think it was happening mostly because of the long, cold winter, followed by a short spring and then hot temperatures.
“The good bacteria go dormant in winter,” she explained, and become active when the weather warms up. “If it’s a really quick transition from cold to hot, it takes time to get out of dormancy.”
In an interview June 6, she said everything staff did finally worked, and the air has been smelling fresh for several days.
Now the village is working out a plan to prevent a repeat next year, discussing options with engineers and talking with other communities which have similar types of sewage treatment.
“We’ll decide whether we do something earlier, something different, something more,” she says.
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