LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- For years, residents in the Park Duvalle neighborhood have complained about foul odors in the air.
Donna Martin says it is a potent smell she knows all too well.
"I won't say it smells like trash, bad trash. It's just a really strong smell," Martin said. "I can smell it outside, and then I get in the house and I feel like, okay, is it coming through the ventilation? Because you can smell it on the inside as well. I do normally notice it more in the summertime."
In the summer of 2019, the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District said from July and August MSD failed to control odors coming from the Morris Forman Water Treatment Plant and storm drains. Complaints came from the Chickasaw, California and Park Duvalle neighborhoods.
"I think the number was about 46 complaints during that time period," Rachael Hamilton, with the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District, said.
A new agreement has now been reached that requires MSD to repair more than 100 catch basins where odors come from.
"The sewers were constructed before the mid-50s and at that time the prevailing way city's did it was a combined sewer system. So they put both the drainage and the sewage in the same pipe," MSD's Chief Operations Manager Brian Bingham said. "They really should have trapped those when they built them originally. They didn't. Now we are going to come back and see if we can't fix that problem."
MSD said it is also working to upgrade the water treatment plant and will hold community meetings to give updates on its odor minimization efforts.
Robin Burch, the odor control and biosolids manager, is tasked with improving community outreach and tracking down icky scents.
"If there's an odor complaint I will go out and I will sniff it out," Burch said. "We are dedicated to working to solve and help mitigate the odors."
"The most important thing is we need people to reach out to us. Let us know what they're experiencing with specifics. Time, location, as best they can describe what the odor is to them. Helps us to be able to determine what caused it," Bingham said.
If you have a bad smell in your neighborhood that you want to report. You are asked to call Louisville MSD directly, or leave a detailed complaint on the Smell My City App.
You can also report a smell or air pollution through APCD.
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