Residents of Narragansett are dealing with an ongoing rotten egg-like odor, which Town Council President Alexander Menzies and President Pro Tem James Durkin are working to resolve.
After over 20 years of odor, the Narragansett Town Council is pursuing a permanent solution to fixing the wastewater treatment facility causing the smell, according to Durkin and Menzies.
The plan is to expand and upgrade, according to Durkin.
Narragansett is working on a temporary solution involving an addition of machines that spray a mist over the plant to neutralize the chemicals and subdue the smell, Menzies said. Seven days a week, waste water staff also continue to add deodorizing agents along with these odor cannons.
Portions of the plant are in the process of being covered, however it is a large alteration, according to Menzies. A qualified professional consultant will be needed to analyze if covering parts of the plant is possible.
The council is seeking coverage for the head works and the ditch, according to Durkin.
The head works is the initial area where waste enters the plant and the ditch is the basin that the wastewater flows through to remove contaminants, according to Menzies. However, covering the plant would only lessen the strong smell rather than fix the issues that the treatment plant has.
Some parts of the plant need to be rebuilt, so at the moment those parts are being focused on according to Durkin.
The town council is already budgeting for a new wastewater treatment facility according to Menzies.
Every year around the Fourth of July, tourism booms in Narragansett, Menzies said. This mass influx of people in the summer months adds stress to the Narragansett Wastewater Facility due to the sudden overflow of waste, causing a smell in the town. This year in particular, the Town Council, along with residents, have noticed the smell has persisted longer than usual.
“We all relate to it [noticing the smell], we know it stinks,” Menzies said.
Roughly three and a half years ago, Narragansett started working on the Facilities Maintenance Plan, which is being reviewed by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, according to Menzies.
Since 2019, $2,265 has been invested into the Wastewater Treatment Facility Capital Projects according to Menzies. There is a scheduled Capital Improvement Plan through 2031 that the Town Council is hoping will mitigate the odor or remove it completely.
“It would be my dream to have that headworks covered by spring,” Durkin said.
This Narragansett Town Council is dealing with this issue head on after years of these issues not being addressed, according to Menzies.
There were measures previous councils could have taken in the past to prevent the odor, but these were never taken, according to Menzies. Residents’ quality of life is a concern for the town, but there are no immediate health impacts of breathing in the fumes and the only issue is the smell it is causing.
“We certainly don’t want anyone to have to not be able to open their window to let in a breeze,” Menzies said.
