'Fart smells' emanate from aging wastewater plant located in Texas neighborhood

TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — While many people enjoyed the smells of Christmas dinner, residents in the Lake Pointe neighborhood feared their meal would be ruined by "fart smells" that can "make your eyes water."

For years, around 70 homes in the west Travis County neighborhood have dealt with a wastewater treatment plant built just yards from their backdoors.

"There have been many days when it's impossible to be (outside). It feels unsafe. It's like the smell is so strong and so gross that like, it's really unpleasant," said Amanda Wilton-Green, a Lake Pointe resident who lives a few yards from the plant.

Issues at the plant, including busted pipes and broken machinery, have grown more frequent as the facility nears the end of its life. With each incident, the smell of sewage fills the air.

While the people in charge of the plant are quick to address issues as they occur, neighbors are desperate for a timeline that will see the removal of the plant from their neighborhood.

'This green fog' descends

The neighborhood is an active one. An elementary school just down the street from the plant buzzes with activity. People push strollers down the sidewalk. Kids enjoying the winter break fill a nearby park.

Walton-Green said when the smell is bad, she and other neighbors can't go outside. She avoids walking her dog and that nearby park, recently renovated, empties of children.

"This little plant is like the little engine it could," said Pat Sinnott, president of the Lake Pointe HOA.

According to Sinnott, the wastewater treatment plant was built in the 1990s alongside the neighborhood. The area it was built on was designated for parkland and runs alongside a wildlife preserve. The plant was originally meant to just provide service to the Lake Pointe neighborhood.

However, plans changed and now homes surround the wastewater treatment plant on three sides.

"It wound up also bringing in commercial waste from all of the like H-E-B and the Galleria Mall and other places around, plus some other neighborhoods. So it really was not meant for something like this," Sinnott said.

In the mid-2000s, the owners of the plant, the Lower Colorado River Authority, sold the plant to the newly established West Travis County Public Utility Agency (WTCPUA). Sinnott said that PUA "inherited a mess."

Over the decades, issues have continued to pop up and with those issues, a putrid smell permeated the neighborhood. Around 70homes are impacted depending on which way the wind blows.

Old machines and putrid stench

A few years ago, pipes connecting the plant to the Galleria had to be replaced. Residents discovered the issue after sewage bubbled up from below the streets.

"The pipes were completely disintegrated, and all of them were blocked. And so that's why the smell was all over the neighborhood," Sinnott said.

These issues are becoming more common over time. "Starting around last November and the holidays, it's been horrendous and frequent," Walton-Green said.

On the night of Dec. 16, a blower at the plant went out. According to WTCPUA General Manager Jennifer Riechers, "a blower is equipment that sends dissolved oxygen through the basins so the wastewater bugs can survive." This prevents the smell from the plant from spreading.

Sinnott said the WTCPUA has been responsive. The problem was addressed the following day.

Riechers said they "have added chemicals and deodorizers to try to mitigate the complaints" as smells have arisen from the plant. She said the plant is in the "middle of a large residential community. There will be odors from a wastewater plant."

Sinnott said because of the age of the plant, getting replacement parts has been challenging. She said they don't want "to put lipstick on a pig" and keep repairing the plant. They want it gone.

Future of waste

According to Riechers, a new plant is scheduled for completion in 2027. That plant, located closer to Bee Cave, will take over the duties of the current plant.

The current plant will then become a "lift station" that will carry waste to the new plant.

However, according to Riechers, permitting, design modifications and staffing changes have led to delays with the new plant.

Sinnott said the lease agreement for the plant is renewed every five years. It ends at the end of this December. As part of the new agreement, the HOA wants guarantees on funding and scheduling for the removal of the current plant.

"As a neighborhood, we're not really convinced that the funding is in place or that it's being expedited, which is what we'd like to see happen," Walton-Green said.

Sinnott said she feels like the people at the WTCPUA are good people and that she doesn't believe corruption is at play.

"We just want to make sure that the priorities that they're setting really include (removing the wastewater plant), because this has been a problem for a long time, much longer than a lot of other issues that they have."

Riechers said they will continue to monitor and address any issues at the plant until the new treatment facility is completed. They do "not anticipate future problems" with the plant.