Residents in the Woodmen Hills and Meridian Ranch subdivisions in Falcon have taken to social media websites to get information about what they said is an unbearable smell coming from the Woodmen Hills Metropolitan Districtís outdoor lagoon at the wastewater treatment plant.Jennifer Egan is a resident who said her house backs up to Stapleton Road, where the treatment plant is located. She said the smell was so bad that she and her family had to go inside and close up their house to avoid it.ìLast summer was a little stinky,î Egan said. ìDuring dry summers it does not seem to smell as bad. But the other night, it was the worst.îGene Cozzolino, WHMD water and wastewater director, said the problem is two-fold. ìWhen the pond turns over, meaning the warm water goes to the bottom and the cold water comes to the top, it brings the sludge up with it,î he said. ìIn the past, that has happened slowly, but this year it was very quick and that is what made it more noticeable.îThe other issue relates to the age of the water treatment plant, Cozzolino said. It is old and not as effective to handle the demands put on it. ìWe have all the equipment running,î he said. ìIt just takes time.îAccording to an article posted on KOAA News 5ís website June 22, WHMD has been cited numerous times by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for having pollutants in the outdoor lagoon that exceed the allowable limit put forth by state statute.Cozzolino said the violations are not related to the current smell situation. ìThe reason for the violations is that the old wastewater treatment plant does not comply (with state regulations), which is why we need a new one,î he said.Because the treatment plant handles wastewater, there will always be a slight smell associated with it, but some days are just worse than others, Cozzolino said.
