Neighbors: Odor near Glenbard sewage plant has dissipated
A stubborn smell linked to a wastewater treatment plant has considerably cleared up in a neighborhood near Glen Ellyn.
The odor coming from the Glenbard Wastewater Authority had lingered over the unincorporated area for weeks, forcing residents indoors when the stench became particularly unbearable.
The culprit stemmed from a disruption in two digesters at the plant that treats sewage and wastewater for from more than 109,000 homes and businesses in and near Glen Ellyn and Lombard.
The authority last year implemented a new system that contains biogas used to help run the plant. The facility accepted grease and other food waste from outside haulers to boost the production of biogas.
During the first week of August, the authority received a higher-than-normal amount of grease from haulers, and officials ended up putting too much material into the system, upsetting the digesters.
As of last week, the digesters were back to normal after facility operators took a number of steps to remedy the smell, Glen Ellyn Village Manager Mark Franz said.
Heather Sebahar, who lives off Buckingham Road near the plant, hasn't noticed the stink in the past several weeks, though she said residents north of her subdivision have told her they occasionally get a whiff.
"I would say the odor has been definitely controlled," she said.
The authority plans to continue a suspension on deliveries of grease until an executive oversight committee made up of Glen Ellyn and Lombard officials sets new protocols.
Officials also are inviting neighbors to join an ad hoc committee tasked with reviewing those procedures and developing "the best way to communicate this process moving forward," Franz said.
The authority saved several hundreds of thousands of dollars on electrical costs in the first year of the new system. Those savings could eventually grow to an estimated $500,000 annually, Franz said.
"We don't want to abandon this project," he said. "We just want to make sure we operate it more effectively."
The authority has posted weekly updates on its website about the progress to address the offensive smell and improve the "overall odor quality" from the plant, Franz said.
Facility staffers have started to install diamond plate sheeting on sources of odor. They also are investigating the feasibility of covering larger equipment and putting in more deodorizing systems, according to the latest weekly notice posted on Thursday.
In addition, officials are looking to add an odor analysis to a facility study done every five years at the plant.
Since the beginning of August, there had been more than 125 odor complaints lodged against the facility, officials said last month. There were only four such complaints during the first seven months of the year.
At its worst, Sebahar said the pungent odor left her nauseous and kept her family from barbecuing and spending leisure time outdoors.
"I still feel like we missed a good chunk of our summer," she said.