Odor Control Measures Near Lexington Water Treatment Plants
In Tuesday’s Environmental Quality and Public Works (EQPW) Committee, the Division of Water Quality Director Charlie Martin presented an update on recent odor control measures taken by the City.
In the fall of 2023, residents near the Town Branch Treatment Plant off Manchester Street and the West Hickman Treatment Plant in the Tates Creek area began calling in complaints about odor issues related to equipment issues at the plants. The City has undergone several measures to improve odor control, including:
Hiring Webster Environmental Associates to perform an analysis of strong odor causes in both plants, and prioritize what equipment replacements needed to occur the soonest to mitigate odor.
Addressing deferred maintenance issues.
Increasing chemical feed rates, which dictates how much treatment chemicals are added to water to ensure effective treatment.
Continued efforts will be made in 2024 to assist in odor control efforts at both water treatment plants. You can view the presentation starting on page 58 of this packet.
In last Tuesday's Environemtal Quality and Public Works Committee meeting, Director of Water Quality Charlie Martin presented on work his office has done to combat odor control issues in South and West Lexington. You can read our initial write-up here.
In terms of next steps, the City will contract services to Webster Environmental Associates for long-term technical support to help improve odor issues. Some of that support will be designing a new scrubber for the West Hickman Treatment plan, which is the main source of odor issues in South Lexington.
No action was taken in the Committee. In February 15th’s Council Meeting, Council will likely approve the contract with Webster Environmental Associates.
