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Residents near Big Creek water plant urge county action over repeated toxic odors
Summary
Multiple Fulton County residents said noxious fumes from the Big Creek Water Reclamation Plant have been waking families at night and keeping children indoors. They asked the board for better mitigation, clearer timelines and more communication from the plant and county project managers.
Residents living near the Big Creek Water Reclamation Plant asked Fulton County commissioners to press plant operators and contractors for faster mitigation after months of recurring, overpowering odors that residents said have made outdoor activity unsafe and interrupted sleep.
June Erickson, who lives near the treatment plant, told commissioners the smell has been “the most horrific” for several weeks and described waking in the middle of the night with doors and windows closed. “It is absolutely intolerable,” she said. A number of other nearby residents including Alexis Jackson, Amanda McKay, Amber Mitt and Mandy Lane reported the same pattern: intermittent but intense odors, inconsistent information from plant and county project staff about timing and mitigation, and continuing light and noise impacts from ongoing construction.
Several speakers said they had received different information from the county project manager and the contractor (Archer Western) and asked Fulton County commissioners — and specifically Vice Chair Bob Ellis — to visit the site and see conditions. Speakers described disrupted outdoor play for children and expressed concern about the health effects of repeated exposure. One caller from Cobb County said the smell could be detected at considerable distance from the plant.
County staff did not present a dedicated Big Creek response plan at the meeting but commissioners acknowledged the complaints and asked staff and the affected contractor to coordinate and follow up with residents. Commissioners did not take a formal vote or order immediate regulatory enforcement at the meeting.
What’s next: Residents asked for a clearer mitigation timeline, better community outreach and monitoring; commissioners indicated staff would follow up and that Vice Chair Ellis had been asked to look at the site and meet with residents.
