Residents press Washington City to find source of hazardous odors from Purgatory landfill

At a public forum Oct. 8, 2025, residents of Sunrise Valley told the Washington City Council that persistent, acrid odors they believe come from the Purgatory landfill have left neighbors with respiratory symptoms and disrupted daily life, and they delivered air-monitoring graphs they said show repeated spikes into hazardous ranges.

The residents asked what concrete steps the city will take to find and fix the source. “Our air quality in Sunrise Valley regularly spike into hazardous ranges, especially at night when the odors are strongest,” resident Kimberly Monson told the council, handing members printed graphs she said were uploaded directly from a third‑party database.

The forum drew several residents who described a change after a June fire at the Purgatory landfill and at least one hospitalization. Speakers said odors can appear at night and sometimes disappear on days when inspections are…