Stickney residents battling rodents and foul odors soon might have relief, officials said during the village’s Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday.
Village officials said they are stepping up efforts to solve complaints of rat infestations in the area southeast of Pershing Road and Harlem Avenue. Meanwhile, representatives of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District said they have a short-term and long-term plan to clean the air around the 4200 block of East Avenue, where residents say odor emitting from manholes along the street is foul smelling and causing health concerns.
Mayor Donald Tabor said the local health department has been setting traps in recent weeks in an attempt to abate the rat infestation. But the department is short-handed and residents will need to take some responsibility for clearing their properties of excess litter and weeds, he said.
“We’re going to ask for people’s help on 42nd 43rd and 44th streets,” Tabor said.
Several residents who attended Tuesday’s board meeting said the rats, which might be coming from an abandoned building on Harlem Avenue, are overtaking garages, gardens and alleys.
“People can’t park in the garages, they have to park on the street because it’s so bad,” resident Denise Perri said.”
The abandoned building, which is the former site of the Coyote Club, has been condemned and likely will be torn down. Tabor said the village will send notices to all residents informing them of ways to handle and prevent infestations. Officials also are considering contracting with a private extermination service.
About a mile away, residents are dealing with another problem. Laura Fast and Paul Teska said the odor emitting from several manholes along the street outside their home at 4237 East Ave. is causing physical and emotional discomfort for the neighborhood.
The odor is caused by the release of hydrogen sulfide gas, which at low levels smells like rotten eggs. Several residents have complained of dizziness, trouble breathing and sore throats, all of which are signs of low-level exposure to the gas.
Plant Manager Brett Garelli said the problem stems from a design flaw in the intersection of two nearby sewers. Waste water traveling from one sewer must drop 11 feet to the next sewer, causing air turbulence, which can force the manhole lids off the ground.
“When those tops are coming off (the manholes), you can’t stand anywhere near it,” Fast said.
Garelli said the district has already purchased a ventilation system designed to pull air from the sewer, pass it through a filter to remove hydrogen sulfide, and then push the air in the opposite direction of the homes.
A similar vent in another problem area seems to be working, said Senior Civil Engineer Rafiq Basaria. He said he stood in front of that vent and could not detect any trace of the foul odor.
“Essentially, this is the best technology that’s out there,” Basaria said.
The district is also in the process of planning a long-term fix that would require several million dollars to redesign the layout of the sewer system to eliminate the 11-foot drop.
“We’re going to throw every resource we have and we will spend millions of dollars to correct this,” Garelli said.
