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Odor mitigation at Santa Rita a must

I am writing in respect to the letter by Neale Roberts (Herald, May 22) entitled “Still time to change plan for sewer plant.” Like Mr. Roberts, I am also a 30-year veteran of major engineering projects and am also skeptical about how much care is being given to keeping the upgraded plant “odor free.”

This level of odor mitigation may not carry merit in the design criteria for treatment plants in some communities, but since Durango has chosen to locate picnic and recreational facilities in the same proximity, it is essential for the Durango plant.

At a presentation at the library on April 13, city officials, along with the city’s consultants from Denver, were present to respond to questions about odor. They explained that they know about odors being caused by the uncovered lagoon, but they are not qualified to address or correct the odors emanating from the riverside.

They stopped short of saying there will be no odors, and they did not commit to providing “positive venting”, i.e., a type of venting that expels odors away from populated areas, even when the biological processes that are supposed to take care of odors have failed.

When there are so many improperly vented lift stations in Durango that emit nauseating odors, it adds credence to the belief that the city does not take them seriously and may not know how to manage them.

Moving the plant to an alternative location is still an option. What is worrisome is that if it was believed too costly to locate the plant where odors are unimportant, then what chance is there of designing the upgraded plant while taking care to discharge the odors away from public use spaces?

Jim Glass

Durango



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