The Reason Behind An OKC Neighborhood’s Smell

Residents of the Oakdale area in northeast Oklahoma City say the smell from a nearby sewage pump station has become unbearable.

The Witcher Pump Station near Hefner and Sooner Road has been there for decades, but those who live nearby say the smell has gotten worse.

It’s clear the community of Oakdale is changing.

“This area has grown so fast with all the neighborhoods and everything,” said resident Nick Gray.

Gray says it’s easy to see why.

“It’s a very popular school district,” he said. “Houses sell quickly in this area.”

He says there’s been another change that you can’t see.

“It just stinks,” said Gray. “The last year I feel like it’s gotten worse.”

The pump station also sits across the street from his child’s school, Oakdale Public School.

“The kids are on the playground in it as well,” Gray pointed out.

It’s also the same school he went to long ago, but he says the same level of odor wasn’t present.

“Nobody likes smelling things that are foul,” said Gray. “Hopefully it’s something they can get resolved sooner rather than later.”

He doesn’t know what that resolution looks like, but is afraid in all the town’s changes the pump station may have been left behind.

“Property taxes in this area are really high,” said Gray. “You just want to know that the city services are using that tax money to improve infrastructure in the area.”

A spokesperson for The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality says due to the large volume of complaints it sent investigators to the site in December.

While the investigation did find a buildup of solids in the basins, DEQ says it did not find violations.

News 9 took the complaints to the city’s utilities department, which provided the following response:

What is causing the smell? 

Contractors are currently cleaning out three equalization lagoons near the Witcher station. During high rain events, these lagoons are used to equalize customer wastewater flows to be eventually delivered to the North Canadian Wastewater Treatment Plant for processing. 

As we pull the wastewater from the lagoons and send it to the North Canadian Wastewater Treatment Plant, some residual wastewater sludge remains in the lagoons. Cleaning the lagoons reduces the potential for odor in the long-term.

Crews are using odor-reducing protocols such as chemicals and containment bags, but these cannot contain all the odors that come from the lagoons.

Were there upgrades to the facility as the area population increased? 

When the lift station was originally built, no housing additions or residences were in the area.

As this area grew, we have enclosed the station on three sides, and have sealed nearby manholes to help with odor reduction. We have also added a chemical odor-removing unit.

Are there any steps being taken now to improve the smell?

Contractors working on the lagoons are using de-watering bags to contain the sludge, and we are also applying chemical de-odorizers to help reduce any smells. The odor will subside once the lagoons are cleaned out.

We also limit use of the lagoons so they are only used when overall flow amounts are high, or we are conducting preventative maintenance. Our long-term plans include adding concrete floors to the lagoons so they can be cleaned more frequently.