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Residents press council on recurring sewage odors; borough schedules virtual town hall
Summary
A council member described persistent raw-sewage odors around downtown Waldwick and urged the borough to press the sewer authority for H2S data; staff said the borough will hold a recorded virtual update in mid-to-late July and a larger in-person town hall in the fall.
WALDWICK — Frustrated residents and a council member pressed borough officials on June 24 to accelerate the response to persistent sewage odors that have affected homes and downtown outdoor spaces.
During unfinished business a member of the governing body described opening a sliding door and finding their home filled with the smell of raw sewage, and said past H2S monitoring by the sewer authority did not align with residents’ experiences. The speaker said state Sen. Holly Schepisi has offered for Waldwick to be a no-cost pilot site for a sewage smoke-remediation study and urged a meeting with sewer-authority leadership and county officials to review monitoring data.
Borough staff said the authority is completing modeling and that the borough will host a recorded virtual information session for residents this summer — likely in mid-to-late July — followed by a more robust in-person town hall in the fall. Staff said the virtual session will be recorded and shared on borough platforms so residents can access the briefing throughout the summer.
Council and staff also discussed the borough-owned mulch pad as a possible alternate odor source; staff said the borough supervises the mulch operator and will have DPW follow up on recent complaints. The borough indicated it will pursue both lines of inquiry — vendor oversight for the mulch operation and continued coordination with the sewer authority — and will post data and the virtual session recording for public review.
Residents who spoke remotely asked that the borough include an in-person option for the town hall so those without internet access can attend. Staff said they would accommodate that request for the fall session and consider an in-person element for the initial briefing where feasible.
No formal action (such as a motion to retain additional consultants) was adopted during the meeting; the steps recorded were a plan for information sharing and further meetings with the sewer authority and relevant stakeholders.
