Longford residents have ‘had a gutful’ over ‘putrid’ smell

A bad smell keeps wafting over a town in the state’s North and its residents have had enough.

TasWater was forced to release gas from covered anaerobic lagoons next to the Longford meatworks this month after a build up of pressure. Picture: CHRISTOPHER TESTA

A TASMANIAN council will ramp up pressure on the state’s Environment Protection Authority to deal with an “absolutely putrid” smell that keeps wafting over a town in the North.

Northern Midlands councillor Matthew Brooks had already been fielding calls on a daily basis from irate residents about the bad odour emanating from the Longford meatworks and a neighbouring water treatment plant when his phone began to light up again in the early hours of Friday morning.

“I thought I’ll bite the bullet … so I went down to the plant at 1am to find the town was absolutely putrid again,” he said.

The council on Monday night agreed to write to the EPA, TasWater, multinational JBS — which operates the Longford meatworks — and Environment Minister Elise Archer requesting a formal response to Longford’s problem.

The foul odour has become so bad the town’s Northern Midlands Courier has taken it upon itself to publish a regular “pong alert”.

Two councillors and the council’s general manager Des Jennings have already begun their own investigations, visiting the JBS meatworks and the TasWater sewerage lagoons – where wastewater from the abattoir is pumped – after meetings with both organisations last week.

Cr Brooks said a foul smell was noticed near a wastewater treatment unit at the meatworks.

Councillors were told a malfunctioning pump at the meatworks was being fixed, while a wastewater upgrade due to be completed next year would also help deal with the issue.

A TasWater spokeswoman said a sewer rising main which burst in January was immediately fixed and cleaned up.

Then, late last month and early this month, TasWater had to release gas from the covered lagoons that receive the meatworks’ wastewater in “small bursts over several weeks” after a build up of pressure.

“TasWater continues to work with stakeholders, including JBS, to ensure the Longford sewage treatment plant can suitably treat the waste it receives, which is a mix of domestic waste and trade waste,” the TasWater spokeswoman said.

“The plant receives fluctuating trade waste loads and must remain operational during any upgrade works.

“Upgrading the plant is a complex project and it is important we take the time to get it right.”

But councillors remain unsatisfied with the EPA’s monitoring efforts.

At Monday night’s meeting, Cr Janet Lambert said the odour had been a problem when she lived in Longford in the 1990s and suggested the council lobby the State Government for the EPA to be better resourced.

EPA director Wes Ford said the JBS meatworks, TasWater’s treatment plant and the Paton Street sewage pump station had been identfied as odour sources.

“There was also a rupture in the effluent pipe between JBS and the (TasWater plant), which has since been repaired,” he said.

“The EPA is still investigating the recent incidents and regulatory options, and will continue to liaise with JBS and TasWater regarding possible solutions.

“It is likely that major capital works will be required at both the abattoir and (treatment plant) in order to manage the odour problems in Longford.”

Cr Michael Polley said the meatworks were 70 years old and in urgent need of investment.

“What I worry about is it will get to a point where it is so run down that they (JBS) will walk away,” he said.