MIDWAY, Utah — Members in one Midway community say the air coming from the nearby wastewater treatment ponds managed by the Heber Valley Special Service District smells so horrible, it’s impacting their health.
One resident, Dan Stead, says it was particularly bad in February and March during the turnover of the sewage in the pond.
“The smell was unbelievable,” said Stead, “We couldn’t go outside, we couldn’t sleep with the windows open without becoming violently ill.”
The impacts of the scent even turned physical for Dan and his neighbor Kristy Councill.
“People are sick. It makes us sick,” she said, “My family particularly we have been fighting diarrhea for the spring turnover.”
Council said she wanted to see if she was alone in what she was experiencing.
She sent out a survey to her neighbors with more than 150 responses, nearly all of them reported they were having health issues like migraines and nausea from breathing the air.
One of the anonymous responses read: “The smell is so strong it burns my eyes.”
Another responder said: “The often occurring odor also affects the mental health of my family. The problem makes me consider selling our home and moving, however, we fear the odor will lessen the value of our property.”
Another said: “It can be debilitating for me. Bad headaches that me and my daughter have and I have severe vertigo the last two years at the same time.”
Councill said she felt like after completing her survey and research, she had to do something.
“I feel like it’s a public health crisis, and people need, we as a community need a solution that doesn’t make us sick and is as beautiful as the place that we live," said Councill. "Those solutions are possible. They’re out there."
She said she hopes the nearby city mayors and members that make up the Heber Valley Special Service District will take action soon.
The District’s manager Dennis Gunn released a statement saying in part: “Addressing citizen concerns and working to mitigate District-related odor is the top priority of the Board. We are evaluating all options, and are committed to implementing timely, effective solutions that are mindful of tax and ratepayer dollars.”
The board and community members met on Thursday evening in a heated back-and-forth debate.
With community input, board members agreed to try and set up a joint meeting with the Wasatch County Health Department to come up with affordable solutions.
