Kosciusko Mayor Tim Kyle has released a statement on the recent sewer lagoon odor that has plagued the city this week:
“The smell from the lagoon across the Trace is back with a vengeance. If you lost your smell with Covid this is the time to be thankful for that. We have been plagued periodically by this odor for the past couple of years. Since Prairie Farms bought out Luvel their production increased significantly along with their waste deposits in the lagoon. The problem in the past has not been the lagoon or the lack of attention the City has spent on this issue but too much discharge of dairy products in a short time which caused oxygen depletion, therefore, leading to the awful odor.
Last year Prairie Farms made the decision to haul all their waste to a landfill to help aviate the problem in which the City is thankful for their assistance. We have not had an odor since this practice was started.
On Monday, Feb. 1, the plant manager of Prairie Farms called the City to inform us that an accident with a valve on a tanker truck had broken during the unloading process the night before and had dumped a load of milk which went down the drain into the sewer system which goes directly into the lagoon.
The City immediately started adding sodium nitrate and enzymes to the lagoon and transferred some of the liquid to the big lagoon on Hwy. 43 to help dilute the milk.
This couldn’t have happened at the worst time because we are having warm days and cool nights which actually causes a natural turnover in lagoons. Also, the water level in the lagoon across the Trace is kept low through the winter in advance of spring rains which has not helped in diluting.
I have had multiple conversations with MDEQ and Prairie Farms management about the current situation. We are doing everything that can be done, but unfortunately, it will take time to get oxygen levels up and the enzymes to break down the milk.
This was no fault of Prairie Farms and the tanker company has claimed responsibility for the spill.
We hate this as much as anyone, so please pass on the facts instead of rumors.
The City is currently waiting for the decision from the State Legislature on matching funds and plan on spending over $2 million on sewer upgrades.”
