VAN NUYS : Officials to Discuss Sewage Plant Odors

Sewage odors being released by the Tillman Water Reclamation Plant will be the subject of a community meeting Tuesday at the plant.

Representatives of the Los Angeles Department of Public Works’ Bureau of Sanitation will discuss what is being done about the odors. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in the conference trailer, 6100 Woodley Ave., Van Nuys.

Neighbors have complained for years about the sewage smells emanating from the plant, which treats sewage and extracts water that is used to supply the recreational lakes in the Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area.

Plant manager Robert W. Birk explained that most of the odors are being released where sewer lines come into the plant. The problem is that the odors have not been efficiently drawn off to aeration tanks for odor removal, and that a reduction in the amount of industrial toxins in incoming sewage has increased the amount of odor-causing bacteria, Birk said.

The department has undertaken a $1.2-million project to add air ducts, fans and other equipment and to seal holes in the present duct system and sewage channels that convey sewage from one section of the plant to the other. Now mid-way through the design phase, the project is slated for completion in August, 1996.

The project, started in October, 1992, will take nearly four years because of the time it takes to get funding, choose a contractor and complete construction, Birk said.

In the meantime, Birk said, plant officials are attempting to address the odor problem by expanding a spray system that spritzes odor-neutralizing chemicals around the sewage channels that may be leaking odors, and by building a temporary enclosure around a piece of equipment that screens the largest solids from incoming sewage.

Birk said he has sent notices of the meeting, which is open to the public, to people who have called to complain about the odors and to nearby homeowner associations.