This isn’t the first year Cami Bingham and her family have dealt with a stench coming off the nearby treatment ponds at the Heber Valley Special Service District, but she says it’s been especially pervasive this spring and summer.
“It's sporadic, it's unpredictable,” she said. “I'll go out, will open my windows in the night and then wake up to the smell and have to close the windows or, or not smell it because the windows are closed and then go out for an early morning run and have to turn around and drive in my car and go somewhere else so that I can breathe the air that I'm exercising in.”
The facility is near the southeastern boundary of Midway. Residents nearby say it’s hard to know when and where to expect the bad smell.
Special Services District Manager Dennis Gunn told KPCW that addressing citizen concerns and mitigating the bad odor is the top priority of the board.
Gunn also said he and other staff regularly conduct field tests with a gas detector.
In another interview with KPCW June 7, he said the smell comes from hydrogen sulfide, which is released from the ponds as a result of seasonal temperature change.
Bingham said she and some neighbors are concerned about how long it’s taking to come up with a permanent solution, as well as potential health impacts if chemicals are in the air.
The Heber Valley Special Service District Board meets Thursday, July 13, at 4 p.m. and Bingham hopes there will be a discussion about next steps.
“I'd really love to have some answers come from some questions that have been posed by community members, by citizens,” she said. “I think there are studies out there, there are tests that have been done, but I think that it's time that we put effort and energy into having more tests on the water, on the air, on the surrounding area, on what can be improved.”
Wasatch County Health Department Epidemiologist Chris Smoot said his office will also meet with the special service district about future strategies.
The board meets at the district office, 2005 West Midway Lane in Midway.
