Odor issues at Thornton Reservoir push MWRD to take action now

MWRD Board Meeting -  February 4, 2016

There are odor issues at Thornton Quarry that the MWRD is taking steps to remedy before the Spring rains come.  They will purchase 13 additional solar mixers to better aerate the combined sewer overflow water in the reservoir that fills the Thornton Quarry during and after a heavy rain event.

MWRD will also purchase “odalogs” or odor detectors, for the Thornton Reservoir to better monitor low levels of Hydrogen Sulfide in the air immediately surrounding the reservoir.  The odalogs (and shelters to house them) will be placed around the perimeter of the old quarry.

There have been a dozen calls from households in Harvey over a month’s period for December through January, complaining about odors.It was suggested that odor results be posted on local towns’ websites which are adjacent to the Thornton Quarry, including Harvey, Homewood, Thornton, and South Holland.  There are currently MWRD “hotline” contacts on these towns’ websites to be able to report any odor issues.

The odalogs may be repurposed for any other MWRD site with odor sensitivity due to combined sewer overflows when the need arises.

The 13 mixers will join seven already existing mixers that are anchored to the quarry floor and float on the surface of the liquid to mix the water in order to eliminate rotting odors.  This total of twenty mixers is thought to be sufficient to aerate the water in the reservoir.  

Since smells were already detected in the winter, the MWRD finds it urgent to install both the detection machines and the mixers before the Spring rains begin.

Observer - Amy Little