Tackling a smelly issue bothering neighbors in Cromwell. Questions were answered at a special town meeting Tuesday night addressing odors coming from the Mattabassett District sewage treatment plant.
At the Mattabassett District wastewater treatment plant, people in Cromwell have noticed a particular smell.
“It smells like rotten eggs and as you know…you don’t want to eat anything,” John Whitney, of Cromwell, said.
The odor is frustrating neighbors living nearby, saying it’s become a nuisance.
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“When are we going to see a stop to the smell of the sewer plant?” Rich Waters, of Cromwell, said.
That question was addressed during a special town meeting. The Mattabassett District said it started looking into the issue after getting recent complaints.
“We felt it was prudent to obtain an outside consultant to look further into where some of the odors are coming from,” Arthur Simonian, Mattabassett District executive director, said.
A study from the consultant found most of the existing odor control units at the plants are working as expected. However, they measured elevated levels of hydrogen sulfide, a gas that smells like rotten eggs, near the sludge storage building where there was a leak in a system inside.
The Mattabassett District said that will be a priority fix. Cromwell Mayor James Demetriades said this special meeting was all about getting to the public in a transparent way.
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“People deserve to be able to go into their backyards, into their parks, and have clean fresh smelling air,” Demetriades said.
He said the town has been working closely with the Mattabassett District on getting rid of the odors, and says there needs to be communication and collaboration.
“I want the residents to feel like they’re being heard. They know the town takes this seriously and they know that the plant takes this seriously,” he said.
The mayor said if you smell something, make a complaint on the Mattabassett District website so someone can go out and measure any odors.
“You see something, you say something, you smell something, you say something,” he said.
The Mattabassett District said while the timeline for improving the plant depends on funding and planning, some things like fixing the leak will happen within the next six months.
