Good Question: Why does it smell like that in the Leestown Road area?

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - It’s a problem you may have noticed if you’ve driven near Leestown and New Circle Road. The odor in that area is the subject of today’s Good Question.

We’ve had several people ask: what is causing the sewage smell near Leestown Road?

Depending on the time of day, it’s pretty noticeable.

Charles Martin, with the Division of Water Quality, told us it’s coming from the Town Branch Wastewater Treatment Plant.

He said a concrete rehabilitation project required them to remove the channel covers that are a primary means of odor control. Those were put in place more than 20 years ago to trap odor and moisture.

However, he said that moisture and gas caused corrosion that ate away at the concrete, causing some of the covers to almost cave in. That requires a repair, which releases gas while repairs are underway.

He told us the project is scheduled to wrap up in the next 30 days and things should return to normal after that.

If you have a Good Question you’d like us to try to answer, send it to goodquestion@wkyt.com.