Odor Control
Odor Program - Highlights and Updates
OdoWatch Continuous Odor Monitoring (ENose) at the Roger Road WRF
Odowatch ENoses are monitoring devices positioned near odor sources to measure odors continuously. An alarm sounds when odors exceed a certain limit, and treatment plant personnel make changes, add chemicals, manipulate machinery, etc., to combat odors.
The Odowatch system at the Roger Road WRF was the first electronic nose odor monitoring system in the United States and has been in service since 2009. It currently includes 5 ENose sensors monitoring 2 sets of primary clarifiers and the digesters.
The OdoWatch system has resulted in much faster response times and has provided information about odor sources, helping RWRD direct odor control efforts.
The Regional Optimization Master Plan Continues to Implement Odor Solutions
The Plant Interconnect Pipeline, which will convey some flows now treated at the Roger Road facility to the Ina Road facility, is nearly completed. It includes inline odor control facilities to reduce odors.
View our ROMP highlights for updates on the major ROMP facilities: the new Water Reclamation Campus and the expanded/ upgraded Ina Road facility. Both will have state-of-the-art odor control.
Report Odor Problems
The Regional Wastewater Reclamation Department is committed to mitigating odors emitted from treatment facilities and the sanitary sewerage system. We are interested in hearing from Pima County’s residents.
If you are directly impacted by odors, please let us know by calling the RWRD Conveyance Division at (520) 443-6500(520) 443-6500(520) 443-6500 or by filling out our Online Odor Report Form.
Publications
- Let's Talk Sewage - A brochure explaining the Regional Optimization Master Plan and its impact on odor control.
- System-Wide Odor Management Program Quarterly Reports
- See Sewer Bill Inserts and Quarterly Reports to the Board of Supervisors for more updates on odor control
System-Wide Odor Control Plan
To address the issue of odors in our community, the Pima County Regional Wastewater Reclamation Department (RWRD) has developed and is working to implement a holistic system-wide odor control plan.
As a first step, a Citizen’s Involvement Committee (CIC) was formed to obtain input from the residents of Pima County, to help identify areas within the community that are impacted by sewer and treatment facility odors, and to voice the community’s input and concerns about sewer and facility odors.
To provide a sound foundation for the plan, a system-wide odor analysis was needed. The county hired Greeley and Hanson, an engineering firm with a strong track record of developing and implementing successful odor control plans for other communities, to conduct the analysis. Greeley and Hanson has completed a baseline of odor reporting data, sampling throughout the conveyance and treatment system, and recommendations for short-term improvements (immediate, "quick-fix" optimizations of existing processes), interim improvements (more complex fixes involving changes to processes) and long-term improvements.
RWRD moved rapidly to implement the recommendations and has already completed most of the short-term and interim improvements. View a list of short-term and interim odor control projects.
Some of the odor control improvements completed in 2007 (Odor scrubber and ductwork at Roger Road WRF; covering over headworks at Roger Road WRF; covering over weirs on the primary clarifiers at Roger Road WRF; vapor phase unit at Prince and I-10)
While these have already made substantial improvements in the system, they will not solve all the odor problems. RWRD is also working toward long-term solutions through the implementation of the Regional Optimization Master Plan (ROMP). The ROMP will address how Pima County will meet environmental regulatory requirements mandated by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. These new standards must be met no later than 2014/2015. ROMP will provide a 20-year plan that will address the long-term future of our sanitary sewerage conveyance system and treatment facilities. Proven, state-of-the-art odor control will be incorporated in all phases of ROMP implementation.
