An unpleasant odour has plagued residents across Cranbourne this week, as a local landfill deals with a stagnant water issue.
Described as “putrid“, the smell has been causing a headache for people in neighbouring areas, local resident Ozkan Mehmetoglu told Star News.
In a statement released by the SBI Group on Tuesday 5 July, the company apologised for the inconvenience.
“Unfortunately SBI Group’s Cranbourne landfill has been releasing increased odour in recent weeks, which has escalated late last week,“ they said.
“The recent odour issue has been caused by stagnant water generated from a water pond in the former quarry void onsite. Due to prevailing winds this has had particular impact on neighbouring communities. We have been working closely with the EPA to resolve this issue, but unfortunately attempts to treat the water onsite have been unsuccessful, and as a result we have been trucking this stagnant water offsite since Friday afternoon.
“This along with a number of other efforts has assisted to reduce the odour, however air inversions overnight has meant nearby communities are still experiencing odour.
“We sincerely apologise to our neighbours for the inconvenience this has caused and thank you for your patience while we address this issue.“
An EPA spokesperson said they had received reports of the odour from residents in Botanic Ridge and Brookland Greens over the past three to four months, with a sharp increase in calls recent days.
“Our officers identified the likely source as a licensed landfill in Ballarto Rd and have been advising the operator as it takes actions to stop the odour,” they said.
“Changing weather in the coming days should reduce the effects of odour on the community in the short term, and EPA will keep working to resolve it at its source.
“An EPA odour scientist has been working in the affected neighbourhoods and confirms that while there is not enough gas to cause a hazard in itself, the odour is clearly enough to affect homes and residents’ quality of life.”
The source appears to be inadequately covered construction and demolition waste in the landfill, allowing rainwater to flow through the waste and into treatment ponds on the site, the spokesperson said.
“With EPA’s advice, the operator brought in equipment to trap and burn off any gas leaving the ponds, but while there was sufficient gas to create odour, there was not enough to burn,” they said.
“A recent overnight spike in odour affecting nearby neighbourhoods was caused by cold, still weather that prevented odour-producing gas from dispersing into the atmosphere as it normally would.
“Any change in that weather pattern should reduce the odour problem in coming days and EPA will continue to work on bringing it to an end.”
EPA officers were at Woolworths Cranbourne on Friday with Casey City Council officers, to meet the community and provide information about the odour and the solutions.
They will be there again next Friday 8 July, and there will be an online community update on Thursday 14 July.
There will also be a letterbox drop to the Botanic Ridge and Brookland Greens neighbourhoods next week.
