ATLANTA — Many residents in northwest Atlanta smelt the opposite of roses when they opened their eyes Thursday morning – due to an issue at the nearby water treatment plant.
According to the Department of Watershed Management, an odor control unit at its R.M. Clayton location caused a foul smell to travel across the area. The department said it was able to fix the issue around 10 a.m. and that residents should "notice a decrease in odors."
Several residents took to social media, stating they had to cut their walks short and couldn't work from home due to the smell.
"I know we're close to a plant, but that kind of smell is just ridiculous," Jarreld Parks, a resident in the area, said later, describing it as "a cross between manure and rotting garbage."
Parks said this isn't the first time the neighbors have had to deal with the foul odor, "They've never smelt it that bad." The smell was so overpowering that it made it hard for people to step outside and even manage to linger inside their homes.
"I mean, I woke up to the smell, and all of a sudden, it was like at 3 or 4:00 in the morning," Parks said. "I got up, and I opened up the door, the front door, and the smell hit me. It was horrible."
Councilmember Dustin Hillis posted in a northwest Atlanta community Facebook group that there's currently an investigation into what caused the problem in the first place.
According to the councilman's post, "large amounts of a substance" were dumped into the sewer system last week, killing the plant's bacteria needed to break down the sewage.
Hillis urged residents to contact the plant manager, Joe Porter and Deputy Commissioner Quinton Fletcher at joeporter@atlantaga.gov and qflecher@atlantaga.gov.
"And I don't really care who is doing it," Parks said. "They need to fix it."