MSD ramping up effort to squelch 'unbearable' odor that hovers over Louisville's urban neighborhoods

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Time and time again, west Louisville residents have filed complaints that the air outside stinks. They say there's a lingering foul smell in the yard, at the park and even inside their homes.

"What it exactly smells like is sewage," said Rhonda Frazier-Jackson, who's lived in the same home in the Chickasaw neighborhood for more than 20 years. "We all complain about the odor because we like to sit out and enjoy the weather. But we can't, sometimes, because of the odor."

The odors have multiple causes, so there's no easy solution to the steady influx of complaints that seem to peak between June and October. Frazier-Jackson said the smell has gotten worse over the years, particularly when it hasn't rained in a while.

The Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District is investing heavily in new infrastructure and new techniques to fix the problem.

The partial cure to eliminate it, MSD says, is rain. Water flushes residential sewage through the system to the wastewater treatment plants. Even with adequate rain, the city's sewer system is antiquated, some of it built in the 1800s — when Louisville's population was far less than it is today — and not designed to trap odor. The city has invested millions in odor control, however, all of the work done to control the odor is not in the budget.

"When we say we're taking on more waste and we're taking on more solids, it's because our city has grown," said MSD Executive Director Tony Parrott.

MSD showed a report during Mayor Craig Greenberg's weekly news conference Tuesday, detailing the hottest spots for odor complaints in 2024 are in area of west Louisville surrounded by Interstate 65, the Shawnee Expressway, Algonquin Parkway and West Broadway.

"If I came into the neighborhood and smelled that right off, I don't think I would purchase a house here," said Frazier-Jackson.

Parrott said MSD is assigning additional staff to oversee odor mitigation and odor strategy. He said MSD is addressing odors daily.

Department leaders estimate they will spend $40 million over the next couple years — mainly in west Louisville — replacing street catch basin drains. That includes $1.3 million spent in the California neighborhood and $2.7 million spent in Shawnee. There are 1,169 catch basins in west Louisville that were either recently replaced or identified as needing replacement. In the Russell neighborhood alone, there are 747 catch basins identified for replacement.

""The Russell area, as we mentioned, is going to be phased just because of the magnitude and lift there financially," Parrott said Tuesday. "But ... it's in our five-year capital plan to be able to phase those out."

MSD said other mitigation efforts include:

Carbon Canisters: Odorous air is moved through activated carbon canisters and odors are absorbed onto the carbon
Chemical Treatment: Addition of bioxide at pump stations
Biofilters: Odorous air is blown through wood chips to mitigate odor through natural oxidation
Biological Scrubbers: Odorous air is blown up through a packed bed of media to reduce odors

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.

Frazier-Jackson said she's trying to stay positive and hopes getting rid of the smell can happen as soon as possible.

"The odor is just so strong it's unbearable at times," she said.

MSD is holding a series of "clAIRity" meetings this year to get feedback from residents. Two have already been held, but information on the other three are listed below:

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. And you can see MSD's full report published Tuesday below:

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