LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- There was a kind of foul smell in the summer of 2023 that permeated parts of Louisville. Natasha Buelt, who lives in Germantown, remembers it well.
Buelt said no matter where she went in the city, the smell lingered. A lack of rain has caused basins around Louisville to dry up, and then stench drifted out.
Rains eventually came, and the smell went away, but Louisville's Metropolitan Sewer District plans to hold a series of meetings this summer, starting Tuesday night, to get feedback from residents.
"I think it would be good just to talk to some folks and figure out just where exactly it's coming from and what we can do to prevent it," Buelt said Monday. "That would be helpful."
MSD is trying to get ahead of the problem, because the National Integrated Drought Information System shows we may be in for more of same this year.
Louisville had 2.31 inches of rain in March, a 47% drop from the 30-year monthly average of 4.37 inches. March 2023 had 7 inches of rain.
(Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Sewer District)
The drier we are, the stinker we are.
"We want to hear from folks that are experiencing this and have a conversation with them," said Wes Sydnor, chief of government and public affairs at MSD. "It's hard to predict when it's not going to rain for a period of time, but we are trying to do everything that we can to get in front of that from an operational perspective."
If needed, MSD crews will fill catch basins, run hydrants with the Louisville Water Company and deodorize the system from west Louisville to the Highlands.
The first "clAIRity" meeting is scheduled for next Tuesday, April 23, from 6-7 p.m. at the MSD Central Maintenance Facility on Commerce Center Place. The four other meetings are listed below:
- Wednesday, June 26, 6-7 p.m. at the Western Library, 604 South 10th Street
- Tuesday, Aug. 27, 6-7 p.m. at the Shawnee Library, 3912 West Broadway
- Tuesday, Oct. 15, 6-7 p.m. at the MSD Central Maintenance Facility, 3050 Commerce Center Place
- Thursday, Oct. 24, 1-2 p.m. at the Norton Healthcare Goodwill Opportunity Center, 2820 West Broadway
For more information, or to report an odor in your neighborhood, click here.
Related Stories:
- MSD hosting meetings to update neighborhoods on initiatives to manage sewer odors in Louisville
- 'It smells like rotten eggs' | Neighbors voice concerns over foul smell in Louisville
- What's that smell? MSD explains uptick in reported odors around Louisville
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