A chemical additive to dampen sewage smells from wafting through the industrial area when the effluent is being pumped from large tankers into the District of Houston’s bulk waste station is expected to arrive this week.
It was first ordered late last fall when complaints arose from businesses in the area of the waste disposal station that the smell from tankers arriving from Coastal GasLink’s work camps south of Houston was disruptive to employees and customers.
Coastal GasLink responded initially by having camp providers schedule tanker arrival and dumping after 5 .m. and before businesses opened the next morning.
That may have worked for a camp closer to Houston but not for ones further away, requiring more hours on the road for drivers.
“The problem was they could not do this within a day. It would have taken too long,” said Coastal GasLink official Kiel Giddens of travel distances and other factors which would have added time to the task.
The additive, which has the brand name CTI OdorClear CNS and which is commonly used to dampen sewage smells, was then ordered late last fall.
But while tankers continued to arrive during the day, the additive has not arrived as first scheduled.
Giddens cited supply chain problems in causing the delay, something Coastal GasLink was not fully aware of until concerns about the continued smell problem were raised.
“It is anticipated to arrive the week of January 24 and we committed to giving the District of Houston 48 hours notice of when to expect loads with the additive so they can monitor any changes,” said Giddens.
“We want to know if it solves the problem,” he said.
The additive is meant to dampen anaerobic bacteria, which does produce an odour, and encourage aerobic bacteria which should not produce an odour.