Northeast Water Reclamation Facility Odor Issues

(This webpage was updated at 9:25 a.m. Feb. 3, 2025.)

The Northeast Water Reclamation Facility underwent a number of wastewater plant upgrades and treatment facility improvements in 2023, which improved the plant's efficiency and impacts on the environment. 

Unrelated to these improvements, the city of Clearwater and Clearwater Public Utilities have received complaints about an odor-control issue at the plant. The city is aware of the issue and has been working hard to mitigate the problem, which is due to the failure of an anaerobic digester at the plant. It is currently out of service and will need to be replaced. 

Crews from Clearwater Public Utilities have been working hard to decrease the odor issues that have been affecting neighbors near the Northeast Water Reclamation Facility. We are pleased to report that significant success has been achieved, and odors are much less intense than than they previously were. Our crews, however, remain focused on continuing to work on this and are moving the project along. The long-term fix will take longer, however, and we don't expect the odors to be a problem after the end of January 2025.

We have seen these successes since the issue began in early January 2025:

• The city has purchased a set of fine bubble diffusers to help the digester system work more efficiently, while also eliminating odors. Crews began installation Jan. 30. The increased oxygen provided by the diffusers will accelerate helpful bacterial growth. Once they are grown, the new bacteria will break down the compounds which would have turned into the odors. This helps to eliminate the odors at its source, and before they reach the open air.”
• Our Maintenance staff has refurbished several of the 16 diffuser assemblies (shown below). Some needed to be rebuilt. Our teams have worked overtime to get that done. 
• Three deodorant foggers were installed Jan. 6, and continue to run at the plant. One is in the influent building; one is between aerobic digester tanks #2 and #3, and the last one is in the solids dewatering building.
• While the diffuser assemblies were working beforehand, the refurbished ones are working significantly better. The more air we can put into the aerobic digester, the less odors we will have.
• Crews ordered and installed five air valves to replace the ones that were stuck closed. These now enable all of the available system air to go to the digesters. 
• The city's wastewater manager has been on site several times since the odor issues began, and she has noted higher dissolved oxygen levels and lower odors, both good signs of progress.

Here is what we are continuing to do to fix the odor issues: 

• Our primary filter system, the Salsnes pump, is running at a lower flow rate than it did in January. 
• An emergency work order has been submitted to a city contractor to assist maintenance with welding, labor, and a large crane.
• We are keeping closed the plant’s windows, doors and garage-style doors as much as possible, especially during the dewatering process of wastewater treatment.

For the long-term fix, the city is now in the design process for needed repairs. Final designs should be complete around Summer 2025, and construction should begin in Fall 2025 and end in Fall 2026.