SLUDGE VICTIMS

Board looks at removing sludge's smell

11/07/00 By YVETTE C. HAMMETT Staff Reporter

For a number of years, residents in one area of Grand Bay have complained of the putrid smell they have to endure when sludge trucks roll down their roads every day, into nearby farm fields, spraying treated waste onto the grass.

But if the Mobile Area Water and Sewer Service improves its treatment techniques, that sludge could end up - minus the bad smell - as soil conditioner for golf courses, parks or even home gardens. The utility's board is considering new treatment processes as part of its master plan for the future.

The utility board could be a pioneer in Alabama if it pursues ways to better treat the sludge, state Sen. Hap Myers said during a Monday meeting. Myers, R-Mobile, is an environmental consultant for the utility.

ALABAMA - GRAND BAY, SLUDGE VICTIMS SUFFER PUTRID SMELL, HEADACHES, RASHES, NAUSEA