Amid concerns over the wastewater treatment plant near Midway, Heber Valley Special Service District Manager Jim Goodley says work is underway to improve existing facilities and plan new ones.
Midway residents who live near the wastewater lagoons have long complained the smell disrupts daily life and makes them feel sick, especially in springtime when the weather warms. Some have sued over their concerns.
In response, the service district dredged 3,400 tons of material from the lagoons from November 2025 through February 2026.
Goodley said the $5 million project was likely the first time the lagoons had been dredged in their nearly 50-year history.
“With the lagoon system and millions of gallons of sewage sitting there and open lagoons, obviously, I think we will always have a risk of odors here,” he said. “But I believe this dredging project significantly [mitigated] our risk of odors.”
The district has also replaced some aging equipment, added odor control to buildings and tanks, and repaired the aeration system in one of the lagoons.
“We’ve had a lot of equipment and systems that needed some attention, so we’re trying to knock them off one by one,” Goodley said.
In addition to immediate fixes, the service district is also in the early stages of a 20-year facility plan.
Goodley said that likely means transitioning away from the ponds altogether and using mechanical plants instead.
“Things are a lot different here than they were in 1980,” he said. “I think it’s time to move on to a more robust treatment system.”
The district is seeking an engineering consultant to design a facility plan. The board intends to choose a company in September.
Meanwhile, scientists have been working to understand any health impacts of living near the ponds. Utah’s Department of Health and Human Services conducted a study around the ponds in 2024 and 2025 and shared its findings in July. Environmental epidemiologists never found harmful levels of a toxin called hydrogen sulfide.
