Regina Mayor Pat Fiacco apologizes for foul odour

The stench wafting into the city is coming from a broken sewage lagoon

Many cities or areas have their own unique smells, but the mayor of Regina is apologizing for the smell in his city.

Mayor Pat Fiacco issued a formal apology to residents because a foul stench is wafting over the west and northwest parts of the city from a wastewater treatment plant.

"I want to sit in my backyard, I want to enjoy a barbecue in my backyard, I want to sleep with my window open - I can't right now and nor can the majority of citizens affected by this in north-west Regina," said Fiacco sympathizing with fellow residents. "And they have a right to be upset."

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Despite it being called a sewage lagoon, it usually isn't smelly. But city officials say a blower that pumps oxygen into the water is broken and that is causing low oxygen levels. That combined with warm temperatures and an aging infrastructure are causing the stink.

While Regina may have a smell for now, it didn't make GQ's list of the smelliest cities on the planet. In fact, no Canadian city did. They ranked Los Angeles as No. 1 saying people smell a weird combination of ocean breeze, desert, car exhaust, asphalt, sun block and the marine layer burning off.

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Just because no Canadian city made the GQ list doesn't mean we don't have issues. The largest wastewater treatment plant in Canada is at Ashbridges Bay in Toronto and deals with waste from 1.3 million people. When the wind blows out of the west there is virtually no avoiding the plant's smell when you are sitting on the beach in the east end of Toronto.

Also on one day in May last year, Torontonians awoke to a terrible stench that was described as everything from bad yogurt to sulphur. The Toronto Star reported a Ministry of Environment spokesperson said the scent was a part of Spring and happens when temperatures warm and the leaves on the ground decompose.

San Francisco experienced a wave of manure in August 2009, which they say was blamed on algae, and Vancouver residents were whacked with a smell related to fertilizer in July 2010.

As for Regina, Fiacco says chemicals are being added to reduce the odour and the broken blower should be fixed by the end of the month.

With files from CBC

(CBC photo)