Over the past several months, many people in the area of Madonna and Los Osos Valley Roads have noticed a strange odor, but don’t know where it’s coming from.
San Luis Obispo resident Adam Harding said, “It just kind of smells like moldy water, like after a rain.”
“It’s kind of 'sulfury,' kinda that rotten egg smell,” said another San Luis Obispo resident, Audrey Lariz.
Tess Duffy lives near the SLO Public Market and often commutes on Higuera Street.
“It’s not great driving down your street and noticing it smells like rotten eggs,” Duffy said.
It turns out, San Luis Obispo’s Water Resource Recovery Facility is the source of the odor, and they are currently working on a solution.
After eight years of planning and five years of construction, a major project to upgrade the facility is set to wrap up this summer. The upgrade will not only resolve the odor issue but also greatly enhance current operations.
The facility treats 4.5 million gallons of wastewater daily, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and as the facility’s supervisor, Patrick McGrath says it was in dire need of an update.
At $140 million, the upgrade project is the largest capital improvement project the City of San Luis Obispo has ever done. It includes modernizing the equipment and adding mechanical components and automation.
“This is a big deal. The water that comes into our facility has a lot of value,” McGrath said. “The facility has been there for well over 100 years with the last major upgrade in 1991.”
McGrath says there will be many benefits for the community and environment once the upgrade is complete.
“We’ll have much cleaner water going into the San Luis Obispo Creek. The ability to produce recycled water is greatly enhanced. The potential to produce electricity will be greatly enhanced,” McGrath said.
The solids that come to the facility are converted into methane gas and then turned into electricity, thanks to new technology on-site.
“It’s now producing more methane gas than we ever have in our entire history,” McGrath said.
He adds that he appreciates people’s patience when it comes to their sense of smell because it will benefit the entire community in the long run.
“Foul odor certainly impacts the quality of life in SLO," McGrath said. "We’re actively working on it and we have a permanent engineered solution that’s being implemented at this very moment.”
McGrath encourages the community to schedule a tour of the facility. To learn more about the Water Resource Recovery Facility upgrade, click HERE.
