Occasionally, customers report lingering odors. When McAlpine Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant was first built, it was in a relatively undeveloped part of town, but Charlotte-Mecklenburg has grown.

In the summer of 2001, Utilities started additional efforts to identify the sources of the odor and to reduce the odor with the help of a private contractor and McAlpine's neighbors.

Since solid residuals from both the McAlpine facility and the Sugar Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant are treated at McAlpine, more digester capacity may be needed. Digesters are the main treatment unit for solid residuals removed during the wastewater treatment process and may reduce odor. Our long-term solution for reducing McAlpine Odors includes building more digesters at the facility, but this is an expensive and time-consuming process.

Until completion of these digesters, we are considering short-term solutions for reducing odors. One solution may be adding odor-reducing chemicals in the dewatering stage, which follows treatment in the digesters. This would help to reduce odors that resulted in the digestion stage and could begin before new digester can be constructed.

Further studies of possible odors from incoming sewer line and on site as well as investigation of other unidentified odor sources will also take place over the next few years. Utilities will continue to keep you informed as this project continues.

To report an odor, fill out our online form.