There’s something foul in the air along Meadowbrook Place in Naugatuck and residents are documenting the stinky situation.
“It's not all the time, but when it is, the smell is a horrible stench,” said Peg Sheehy who lives nearby.
“It's awful. The stench is disgusting," Maggie Hrebik added.
It smells like raw sewage, they say. The source, they think, is the water treatment plant run by Veolia Water.
”You're sitting watching TV, and all of a sudden the air is coming through and then you’ve got to close your window because (of) the smell,” Hrebik said.
In the hopes of putting pressure on the company, the residents have formed a neighborhood watch group to document how often they notice the stench and when it's at its worst.
"We can't even hold the meetings outside on my back porch because it smells so bad,” Sheehy said.
Earlier this month, the state Department of Environmental Protection fined the company $2,600 as part of this consent order. They also told the company to hire a consultant to come up with a plan to fix the problem.
"Veolia is in the process of undertaking an investigation to ensure future complaints will not happen,” Mayor Bob Mezzo said.
In a statement, the company said, "at considerable cost ... we have made numerous facility improvements and used the latest technologies to alleviate odor-related issues. We are dedicated to continue working with the borough of Naugatuck and the Connecticut DEP on potential odor issues."
