Water utility hopes to soon resolve smelly situation in the Upper Valley

A foul odor has been plaguing an up valley neighborhood for months, “I don’t know exactly the time I started noticing it, I noticed definitely over the summer”, says homeowner Kristi Heathcote.

“It smells kind of like sulfur, like eggs I guess, it’s not very pleasant”, adds Heathcote.

ABC-7 asked El Paso Water if the bad smell had anything to do with construction in the area or stagnant water in a nearby canal, but it turned out to be neither of those things.

Christina Montoya, with El Paso Water, said it all started over the summer after there was a sewage rupture at Doniphan and Sunland Park. “There was over pressure and it ruptured, so we were able to reroute that force main,” Montoya said.

Montoya explained the break means sewage is being diverted through a lift station on Doniphan and Frontera, and that increased flow, as well as on going repairs of the rupture, have resulted in bad smells in the area.

“Things should return to normal by the end of the year,” Montoya added, as line repairs are expected to wrap up soon.