Data from the state of Michigan shows air quality around the sewer plant in Kalamazoo's Northside Neighborhood has improved slightly. That’s after the city finished a new pipe for wastewater from a neighboring paper plant.
Now the city’s pursuing its latest odor-busting project — a $135 million sludge dryer.
Last October, Kalamazoo built a sealed pipe that brings wastewater from Graphic Packaging International to its Water Reclamation Plant. A January report from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy measured a slight decrease in hydrogen sulfide emissions from the plant.
But it also found the facility still pumps out over a ton of the noxious gas annually.
“It's not a magic bullet that one thing is going to cure it all," said James Baker, the director of public services for the City of Kalamazoo. “There's a lot of work that has been completed and we've seen a lot of great progress with that. We understand that there is work to be done.”
Now, the city is applying for about $135 million in funding from EGLE for its next project, a sludge dryer. Baker says drying sludge — which is solid matter extracted from raw sewage — would reduce odors as it’s stored and moved to nearby landfills.
“Think like storing a sack of flour, if you will, as opposed to storing a sack of something else. And it's the something else that generates and has that odor," Baker said.
If they receive the state grant, Baker said construction could start in 2027.
