Village hopes cooler weather eases sewage plant odors

SAUGERTIES, N.Y. » Village officials hope cooler weather will help ease odors emanating from the sewage treatment plant due to needed repairs.

Plant Superintendent Mike Marino said this past week that repairs at the Dock Street facility have been delayed due to contractor slowdowns resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“He knows that we need this as soon as possible because of the odor and the neighbors,” Marino said.

“That odor-control system that we currently have has been reprogrammed to run ... for a longer period of time,” he said. “What this does is absorbs the odors, and that’s one of reasons why it’s more expensive than just a deodorant. I can’t imagine what it would smell like if it were just a deodorant being sprayed in the air.”

Marino said the odor will not travel as far once the temperature drops.

“The cooler weather is going to make a difference because it’s heavier and it [keeps odors] probably about 15 feet above the plant,” he said. “I say that because as I’m coming down the hill in the morning, you can actually smell the difference . ... So there is a level at which it will stay and I’m assuming it’s due to temperature.”

In a related matter, village officials are waiting for engineering specifications for the replacement of 1,290 feet of Main Street sewer lines from Partition Street to Cedar Street. The project last year was estimated to cost $357,000, the village hopes to use $200,000 in grant funding that was approved more than three years ago.