VAN NUYS : Neighbors Upset About Nearby Fumes

It was rotten eggs, or a disturbingly similar odor, anyway, that brought Van Nuys residents out in force for a meeting at the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant.

“I go to a lot of community meetings, and the meeting . . . was rather spectacular,” said Glenn Bailey, a founding member of the Coalition to Save the Sepulveda Basin. “It was standing room only.”

About 75 neighbors of the plant at 6100 Woodley Ave. were on hand Tuesday night to encourage Tillman officials to do something to quell the odors, which some said literally have been giving them headaches.

“Sometimes it’s pretty horrendous; sometimes it’s not that bad,” said Chris Gross, president of the neighborhood association at the nearby Midvalley Estates.

The plant treats raw sewage and filters the water for use in recreational ponds in the nearby Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area. A $1.2-million project to seal sewage channels, add air ducts and fans and clamp the lid on offensive odors is under way, with several improvements already in place, officials said. But the project is not scheduled to be completed until late in 1996 and the smell is as bad as ever, some neighbors say.

“We definitely realize that our plant is producing odors,” said Stanton Smith, associate engineer at the facility, adding that neighbors were “justifiably upset.”

Sam Furuta, assistant director of the city’s Bureau of Sanitation, said the plant is working on a “reasonably aggressive schedule,” considering the amount of red tape on any $1.2-million municipal project. But, he added: “We will do everything we can to accelerate the process.”

While some residents have complained that the odors seem to have aggravated their allergies and asthma, health assessments have shown no harmful conditions, Furuta said.

Ironically, federal mandates requiring the removal of heavy metals from reclaimed water may have exacerbated the situation since going into effect two years ago, Lewis said. Hydrogen sulfide, believed responsible for the most offensive of the odors, tends to bond with such heavy metals, he said. With the cleaner water, the hydrogen sulfide is released into the air.