For several days, residents in the southwest Calgary community of Somerset have been choked by a foul smell wafting up from their basements and say it’s the city’s responsibility to fix it.
Bob Clark says the smell is not unlike an outhouse.
“If you don’t vent it out, it’s just going to get into everything; your clothes, hair, everything.”
He says that he’s been trying to drown out the foul smell by pouring hot soapy water down the drain in his basement and even opening the windows in his house.
“I’ve been keeping fans on and the windows open. It’s been really chilly in the house.”
However, none of his efforts seem to make much of a difference at all.
"I'm a little frustrated because it’s my house. I work in it throughout the week and I would like to not have it be so vile in here."
Clark said he’s called 311 about it, suspecting a sewer backup, but the crews they sent said there was nothing wrong with the home.
After he tweeted about the issue, the 311 Twitter account responded, saying that the foul odour was likely coming from a wetland in Bridlewood, a storm retention pond in the neighbouring community.
The city says that the issue is a typical occurrence in the spring as the ice in the wetland begins to melt.
It says that all the material that has been stagnant all winter is now exposed and emits a distinct smell.
Officials say crews are trying to alleviate the issue by replacing maintenance covers with grates to improve ventilation, but other than that, residents will unfortunately just have to plug their noses and deal with the smell.
(With files from Stephanie Wiebe)
