A foul odour continues to create a stink among politicians.
Vernon council debated the issue of an ongoing odour in Polson Park Tuesday and whether it comes from the regional district’s nearby septic facility or from a commercial property.
“I’d like to know what the next steps are. We have to do something about it,” said Coun. Catherine Lord.
“I want to make sure we track it down and do something about it.”
The Regional District of North Okanagan has insisted the smell isn’t from its septic collection facility but is methane.
“It is my understanding that the site of the Shops at Polson Park is a former sawmill site and there may be a significant amount of organic matter buried deep on the site,” said Dale McTaggart, RDNO general manager of engineering, in a recent letter to the city.
“Organic matter undergoing anaerobic decomposition produces methane gas. The parking lot catch basins may be providing a path of least resistance for the methane gas to migrate.”
While he doesn’t rule out the possibility of composting mill waste, Mayor Akbal Mund says the septic facility could also be a source of the problem.
“When people takes septage there, you can’t tell me there isn’t a smell. It doesn’t just disappear,” he said.
Like Lord, Mund wants the issue resolved.
“We’re working with the regional district because we’ve had residents complain about it,” he said.