Strong Sewer Odor Impacts Eastside Neighborhood

On Monday, Oct. 5, residents of a Long Beach neighborhood requested city services to conduct a thorough inspection of its underground sewer line, as a strong, noxious odor was affecting air quality and public health..

Beachcomber got the opportunity to speak with Mrs. Steve Williams (who requested that her first name not be disclosed), a Long Beach resident whose neighborhood was affected by the chronic smell. According to Mrs. Williams, she and her husband first noticed the smell in their neighborhood this past September.

“We were walking down the street, and the smell was just unbelievable,” said Williams. “I was taking photos of the drainage holes where it was coming from, and one of my neighbors happened to walk by. We spoke and she would tell me that the smell was so bad it made it difficult for her to park her car in the area, because the smell would go into her car and stay there.”

According to an email shared with Beachcomber by the Williamses to the Long Beach Public Utilities Department (LBPUD), the odor coming from the sewers was reportedly emitting from several curbside drainage spots located along the city sewer line intersection at 11th Street and Belmont Avenue, near the Greenbelt Heights residential area.

To make matters more difficult, the noxious smell would become significantly stronger during certain times of the day, making the neighborhood nearly impossible to breathe in.

“The problem we’re experiencing is that it’s not always there,” said Williams. “One day I was in the yard and I didn’t smell it. But the morning before, it was strong all the way up the street.”

Since then, the Williamses have reached out to the LBPUD, as well as various other facilities and departments, for help in their neighborhood. According to a copy of that email to the LBPUD, the community has requested not just a removal of the sewer odor in the neighborhood, but also an official inspection of the sewer lines.

“This condition is a direct hazard to public health and has severely degraded the quality of life for families living nearby,” the Williamses wrote in their email to the Long Beach Utilities Department. “We urge your team to inspect this entire connected block immediately.”

Beachcomber contacted the Public Utilities Department for more information on the status of the sewer odor on 11th and Belmont. According to LBPUD Senior Director of Customer Service Jennifer Rojas, sewer maintenance crews were dispatched to the area on Oct. 6 to investigate, following the complaints they had received.

“Once it is confirmed that the odor is due to a sewer line, standard practice is to thoroughly clean the sewer lines in the area using hydro-jetting equipment,” said Rojas, explaining to Beachcomber the process that is involved with a sewer odor problem. “This removes any settled debris in the line that may cause odors, such as accumulated fats, oils and grease. After cleaning, the lines are inspected using CCTV cameras which provide a detailed view of the inside of the pipe. This allows us to assess the pipe and note any defects which could be contributing to the odor problem.

Rojas continued: “Lastly, the sewer manholes associated with the affected pipelines are corked and sealed with silicone to prevent any new odors from escaping into the neighborhood.”

According to Rojas, once they were able to finish a thorough cleaning of the sewer line, dispatched crews then corked and sealed various LBPUD sewer manholes throughout the area, including Termino Avenue between 10th and 11th Streets, Roswell Avenue between 10th and 11th Streets, and Belmont Avenue between 9th and 11th Streets.

For residents like the Williamses, they are glad for the city’s quick efforts to plug up the smell in their neighborhood. Now, they just hope to continue life without another odor incident happening again.

“We’ve had our hopes up before, so we’ll see if they do a permanent fix and repair the problem this time,” said Williams. “All I want is to just have that smell gone.”