Escanaba council hires engineering firm to study wastewater odor tied to landfill leachate

Escanaba City Council on Aug. 7 approved up to $34,400 to retain Fishbeck of Grand Rapids to evaluate odor-control measures and pretreatment options for leachate that enters the city’s wastewater system, after business owners reported recurring, sometimes severe odors along North Nineteenth Avenue. The study will examine short-term odor-control steps and long-term pretreatment alternatives and produce a draft evaluation and final alternatives analysis for council review.

The vote followed lengthy discussion among staff, council and affected business owners about the scope of the odor problem and who should pay for solutions. “This study is gonna set us in the direction to learn what we need to do and how we can do it,” said Jeff Lampe, a wastewater-department representative, as the council…