Sewer Order

Silver Lofts Owners/Residents,

With the weather heating up, it is expected that a back-flow of sewer odors may again occur in the Silver Lofts area (as well as portions of Ninth St. to the north and the south: the Ninth St. line is the "worst in the City").

Almost a year ago I reported to you that meetings were under way with the State director of Sewer Odor Control in this area.  He began immediately to draw up plans for a small underground treatment facility up-line, which would effectively remove the odors.  In February it looked as though construction would begin in May.  In March the chosen installation location got shot down and he had to consider alternative sites.  One has finally been settled upon, with final approval pending a late July meeting.  I shall keep you posted.  We are assured by State and City officials that "there should be no problem".  The location is already City property (unlike the previous site).

Practically speaking, it will be late Fall before a 60-90 day construction project takes place.  Hence, it will be NEXT summer before this problem is solved.

For now?  If you so desire, you can install on your own roof an activated charcoal filter that removes these odors.  TLC Plumbing (345-5544) can install this type of filter on top of your vent pipe which kills such odors.  It costs $55 plus installation.  If every unit did this it would probably be quite effective.  If only a few do it, I doubt that you would notice a difference.

The above info is the result of a meeting held this afternoon in Councillor Benton's office with him, his secretary, the City Water Authority Director, the State Odor Control man and several of us from Silver Lofts.

Probably, in the broader historical context of how things like this get done in the City of ABQ, this project is moving at a fast pace.  They assure us that plans and funding and approval are all in place.
It just won't help us much through this immediate summer.

More when I know more...

Roger Elsinger
Silver Lofts HOA, Pres.
818-8164