After a sewer collapse in south Toledo spilled raw sewage into waterways four months ago, neighbors say the stench still lingers and the city needs to move faster.
TOLEDO, Ohio — Four months after a sewer collapse on Arlington Avenue spilled raw sewage into south Toledo waterways, neighbors say the stench still lingers and the city isn’t moving fast enough.
“In the morning, it’s kind of strong. It smells like an outhouse here,” said Joe Arquette, who lives in the area.
Arquette says Swan Creek is basically his backyard and he’s especially concerned about the situation because of his wife’s health issues.
“I’ve got a wife at home that has an immune deficiency and I worry about her every day while this goes on,” he said.
Due to the strong smell and concerns about breathing it in, some residents said they’ve been avoiding the outdoors.
“You get whiffs of it every now and then. It smells so awful,” said Lorna Walter, who has lived in the area with her family for six years. “It’s sad to say, but this summer we’ve mainly stayed, majority of the time, inside due to the smell.”
Laomi Belcher, who has lived on Woodsdale Avenue just a few streets over from the creek for one year, said the stench also stops her from going outside sometimes.
“If it’s hot outside, it gets really bad. You can’t walk in that trail at all. It stinks,” she said. “It smells like sewer waste, like it stinks really bad.”
In July, a city spokesperson said repairs could take up to six months. Since then, crews installed a 12-inch bypass pump with two backups, preventing any sewer overflows since that time. Testing of Swan Creek continues weekly, with results showing elevated E. coli levels, though DNA analysis points to animal waste rather than human sewage. Officials say those levels are slowly dropping with cooler weather.
While the city insists the smell comes mostly from animals in the creek, residents disagree.
“It smells like it’s way more than that. It’s really bad,” Belcher said. “I feel like we shouldn’t be smelling it this far out if it was just that.”
The city says a public health advisory for Swan Creek, Delaware Creek and Heilman Ditch remains in place. Long-term repairs are expected to be finished by the end of January.
This article was published by Silver Barker on 2025-09-16 21:59:00
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