Odor Awareness Letter to Lakewood Residents

March 20, 2025 - The below letter was sent to the Lakewood area residents today in regards to past odor concerns coming from the Wastewater Treatment Plant and what the City is doing to combat the issue this year. 

Notice to the residents of the Lakewood area:

As the Wastewater Treatment Plant provides treatment to all of Mandan’s domestic, commercial and industrial wastewater, the treated water is continually discharged to the Missouri River. The byproduct that is removed from the treated water goes to a pond, known as the facultative sludge basin. During the winter, ice forms on top of the pond, eliminating the oxygen supply and stopping aerobic treatment. During the transition from winter to spring, this pond can emit a strong, unpleasant odor as the normal, organic treatment process restarts. Strong North Dakota winds can cause the odor to be more prominent during this time as well.

We apologize in advance for any odors from the plant. City staff and leaders continue to work on ways to mitigate the odors from our site. We are always looking for an effective and economical solution. We will continue to work with regulatory officials, engineers, and wastewater vendors to help find ways to better this situation.

To help mitigate odors, we are currently:

• Adding T195 Mega Bugs to the pond daily. This product is meant to boost the bacterial population that will digest the sludge within the pond and reduce odors.
• We have 2 Solarbee mixers on the pond providing aeration.
• As soon as the ice is off, we will pump fresh water into the pond daily.
• In the fall, we haul out sludge from the pond to be used for fertilizer. We began this process in 2009. Yearly we haul out an average of 405 loads and approximately 2.3 million gallons.

Please contact Wastewater Treatment Plant Superintendent Ryan Malsam at 701-667-3278 or City Engineer Jarek Wigness at 701-667-3225 with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

City of Mandan, Wastewater Treatment Team