A wastewater treatment plant in Astoria has been causing a big stink for residents, but a three-million dollar upgrade is in the works to fix that. NY1's Clodagh McGowan filed the following report.
For people who live near the Bowery Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant in Astoria, the smell can sometimes be overwhelming. Councilmember Costa Constantinides says his son has a nickname for the area.
"He calls it 'Rotten Egg River'," said Constantinides.
But the Department of Environmental Protection has a $3 million dollar plan in the works to substantially reduce the smell. Workers are in the process of installing aluminum covers and odor control units on the sludge tanks.
"For too long, every time it rains this stirs the sort of open pot. And we want to make sure that once this is covered, that when it rains you're not looking forward to smelling...basic sewage in our community," said Constantinides.
Bowery Bay is one of the city's 14 wastewater treatment plants, responsible for removing pollutants from the water before pumping it back into waterways.
According to DEP, the plant is designed to treat 150 million gallons of wastewater a day, serving close to a million residents in northwest Queens.
The new tank covers and carbon filtration system are designed to catch 99 percent of the odors, while the water is treated.
"In addition to the covers, there are air intake vents and then an odor control system to pull the odorous air out and treat it. And that should take care of the odors," said Anthony Maracic, the Head of Engineering, for DEP’s Wastewater Department.
DEP launched the project after receiving numerous quality of life complaints over the past two summers.
"Springtime, summertime, when it gets really warm the odor permeates the area. And sometimes it's really distressing to the residents because they go to open their windows to let a little fresh air in the house and they have this disturbing odor coming in," said Florence Koulouris, the District Manager for Community Board 1.
DEP officials say if all goes according to plan, the project will be complete by Memorial Day, just in time for the unofficial start of summer.