Neighbors in the area of Lowry and Marshall in Northeast have a problem, and they’re trying to raise a stink about it.
Well, actually, the stink is already there. Both home owners and businesses have complained to the city of Minneapolis and the Metropolitan Council about sewer gas smell, but thus far they haven’t seen any results.
“It makes me nauseous,” said Tessa Ikola, a resident. “I try to give my baby a bath, and it just reeks in the bathroom.”
Ikola said the Met Council has been doing work at 22nd and Marshall for over a year.
She said the smell, though, is noticeable on 22nd Avenue and goes over to nearby California Street.
“Sometimes it’s just a whiff, and other times it’s severe,” she said. It’s been much worse, Ikola said, since about mid-October.
She said at least eight homes in the neighborhood have experienced the sewer smell.
Ikola said she and her wife have spent over $1,000 to hire three different plumbers, and each told them the problem was not in their house. Other neighbors have also brought in plumbers.
Down the street at Marshall and Lowry, at Tony Jaros’ River Gardens, bar manager Marlo Thomas said the issue has been going on for some time, but seems to be getting worse.
Thomas said the business has hired a plumber. “They checked everything and they fixed it. It’s not us.” The sewer smell seems to be coming from outside.
“At the beginning of the year, we had three sewer caps outside, and they were sealed. We thought that would end the problem, but it didn’t.”
Thomas speculates that since the River Liquor building across the street was razed, and a large housing project [Gateway] was built, the smell has been prevalent. “We had the city plumber here and he said our plumbing was old but fine.”
Part of the problem, Ikola said, is that there are two jurisdictions. The Metropolitan Council is in charge of sewer lines on Marshall Street, because that’s a county roadway, while Minneapolis is in charge of the cross streets, 22nd Avenue and Lowry Avenue. The two agencies have been pointing fingers at each other, she said.
The city said in a statement that the Metropolitan Council has a sewer line that runs down Marshall Street.
“MCES (Metropolitan Council Environmental Services) staff let the city’s Surface Water and Sewer staff know that they are investigating this odor complaint. MCES is the lead on this odor investigation,” city spokesperson Allen Henry said.
The Metropolitan Council said it hopes to resolve the problem by the end of the year.
“The Met Council Environmental Services Division has been rehabilitating the interceptor in east Minneapolis for the past two years. Work on the project is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2024 and is expected to resolve the ongoing issues with odors in the area,” according to John Schadl at MCES.
The interceptor project involves six sites on the east side of the Mississippi River including two in Northeast, one at Marshall and 22nd and the other at Third Avenue and Fifth Street.
The Met Council website at https://bit.ly/ES807643 said, “The system is aged and requires rehabilitation to manage flow and to minimize the risk of spills and other environmental impacts.” The project includes replacing hydraulic control gates, vault hatches, improving ventilation, repairing concrete and replacing sewer pipe and improving odor control. Work is scheduled to end in December.
A Met Council member will be at the Nov. 12 Bottineau neighborhood meeting to discuss this issue. Information can be found at https://bit.ly/BNANov12Meeting.