Eau Claire (WQOW) - This is a story that will give you a sense of place.
It's been said the sense of smell is the strongest tied to memory. Chippewa Valley residents can testify to that. When asked what locations come to mind when thinking of distinctive smells (good or bad), people posted the following on WQOW's Facebook page: Banbury Place, Lake Menomin and the old Dolly Madison Dairy in Eau Claire.
WQOW News 18's Steve Betchkal and Mike Joyce went in search of unforgettable aromas. "I would describe the smell of raw wastewater as an earthy, soapy smell. Today is a good day. Obviously, we get days where we get an upset in the system and it can come out smelling like rotten eggs," said Jeff Pippenger, City of Eau Claire utilities administrator.
The Eau Claire Wastewater Treatment Plant knows odor, taking something no one wants to talk about and turning it into something no one has to worry about. One could say there are two objectives: 1) To efficiently and safely recycle waste and 2) to do it with as little odor as possible. "Correct... and just with the nature of the product we're dealing with, there's an odor associated with it. When the plant was built, it didn't really have an odor control system put into it. However, our second phase construction starting in the spring of 2013 we're going to address that issue by investing $3.5 million into controlling about 85% of the odors that are emitted here at the plant," said Pippenger.
What about the smell of a business known for its food? For example, the smell of barbecue is a marketing tool, right? "That's right, it definitely helps us out. Luckily for us, what we exhaust there is a naturally-occurring aroma of hickory-smoked meat, so it definitely helps to invite people in. We have customers who say they smell us before they actually see our sign and that brings them in, and certainly with the fire department, it drives them nuts all day long and they come in as well," said Dan Pekol, owner of Dickey's Barbecue Pit.
