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Residents press Rowlett for fixes to recurring sewer odors on Liberty Grove; city says it is investigating
Summary
Residents described daily sewer odors and potential H2S exposure in the Liberty Grove area and urged contractor accountability; the city said staff have deployed temporary measures (charcoal filters, sealed manholes), engaged engineers and will pursue further diagnostics and pilot fixes, asking residents to report incidents promptly.
Several residents told the Rowlett City Council that recurring sewer odors on and near Liberty Grove have become a daily quality‑of‑life and health worry.
Lisonbee Felderhoff told the council the sewage smell is “abhorrent” and described families unable to use their backyards. She said the neighborhood paid Circle H Contractors $4,402,544.80 for the project and called for immediate corrective action, including redesign, odor control or independent experts to fix the problem. “No family in Rowlett should be fighting to breathe clean air on their own property,” she said.
Dan Hap, another neighbor, described attempts to address the issue and relayed engineers’ suggestions such as injecting hydrogen peroxide, installing wet scrubbers, airtight manhole covers or converting a gravity line to pressurized main to prevent gas accumulation.
City staff responded that crews have visited the area multiple times, installed charcoal filters and sealed a manhole cover after staff saw seepage. The city manager (name not recorded in the public remarks) said the system was installed per engineering plans and that staff are working with consulting engineers and the contractor to identify intermittent sources of the odor. He emphasized the difficulty of capturing intermittent events and asked residents to report occurrences directly to city contacts so staff can respond and document the incidents promptly.
The council was told the vent stacks and air traps had been modified and that the city has been doing targeted site visits. Staff said they have engaged additional professionals and will continue pilot tests and operational adjustments while pursuing a longer‑term systemic solution.
What residents asked for: immediate mitigation (odor control, manhole sealing), independent review of the system engineering and accountability for contractor performance. What the city said it is doing: inspections, temporary mitigation (filters, sealed covers), outreach to engineering consultants, pilot treatments and meter replacements where applicable; the city urged residents to provide incident reports so staff can better capture intermittent events.
