Baird residents want answers, action for 'rancid' smell from Wastewater Lagoons

Jan 28, 2024

by: Tyler Henderson

Posted: Feb 27, 2023 / 05:33 PM CST

Updated: Feb 27, 2023 / 05:33 PM CST

BAIRD, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – You may have needed to tie down your patio furniture and trash cans the last few weeks, as strong southerly winds gusting nearly 50 miles per hour have hit the Big Country. But while the winds have blown dust around, it’s also blown a new problem into Baird, as the Wastewater Lagoons are blowing a “rancid” smell across town.

The Wastewater Lagoons are just south of Baird across the train tracks, and while the large hill that the tracks sit on divides the lagoons from homes, those strong winds bring an unbearable stench right over.

KTAB/KRBC spoke with a Baird resident who lives across the street from the railroad tracks, and said this about the smell:

“As soon as I got into town, it was it was bad. It was real bad,” she said of returning to Baird from Abilene. “The worst part about it is not only does it smell outside of your house, you go inside and it smells just as bad.”

This Baird woman described the smell as a used port-o-potty sitting in the Texas heat all summer and has never been cleaned out. She also said neighbors are contemplating moving away from Baird because the smell had gotten so bad. Another resident, Corey Hosick, added he believed it smelled of sewage and burnt hair.

“It’s an issue to not [be] able to keep your windows open because of the smell,” Hosick said. “It’s just pretty rancid.”

Hosick told KTAB/KRBC the smell was really bad when the lagoons were first installed around six or seven years ago, but the City of Baird said they would work to dampen the smell. However, he reiterated that the smell has only gotten worse and, after many comments and messages on Facebook, the city had not revisited the issue.

“If you see something, you need to say something,” implored Hosick. “I’m just hoping that the city can take this as seriously as some of the residents here in town do, and they can get the situation corrected.”

Another Baird resident reiterated her frustrations with the city, as well, saying “It’s not fair that they don’t care enough to tend to it because I almost feel like they’ve just forgotten it, and just let it be.”

KTAB/KRBC reached out to the City of Baird, and while they did not give us an interview, they did provide us with this statement:

“The City of Baird is aware of the odor from the Wastewater Lagoons and is currently evaluating the situation. We will be consulting with our engineers and discussing appropriate action that is needed to alleviate the odor. We understand the frustration with our citizens and hope to have the problem rectified.”

Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.