The city manager of Wheeling addressed this morning the strong odors emanating from the city’s wastewater treatment plant in Center Wheeling.
“We have had a discharge into the system from a customer or customers that has caused a disruption to the plant,” explained Bob Herron. “We are working diligently to correct it, but there is not a timeline because it’s a situation that has to work its way through the system.
“We know who discharged what they did, and we’re working with them,” he said. “But the odor is not a part of our current upgrade work at the plant. The discharge is completely separate from the improvement project that is taking place with the plant’s digesters.”
The city manager did not disclose who discharged the materials into the city system that have led to the odor, but he did say he would once all information has been collected.
In January, City Council approved a $46 million project to upgrade the plant, including a complete cleaning of the system’s digesters. The project, which started in March, includes a total of $31 million has been allocated for the plant. A line item is $500,00 for sludge removal and another involves $1.4 million for digester scrubbing and repairs.
The upgrades at the wastewater treatment plant could be completed late next year.
“That’s why I do want to stress that this issue is not part of the project. That project continues and is going well and is on schedule,” Herron explained. “This is something that somebody put into the system that they shouldn’t have, and we’re working with them to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
