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Daily smell of sewage has South Shore community stuck inside

Neighbors say they've dealt with the smell off and on for years, including back in 2016, but they say this time the odors are worse and happening more frequently the last three to four months. 

Jon Dowding

Dec 5, 2024, 3:08 AM

Updated 16 days ago

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The daily smell of sewage from the Cedar Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant is trapping Seaford and Wantagh residents in their homes, and even making some of them sick.
Neighbors say they've dealt with the smell off and on for years, including back in 2016, but they say this time the odors are worse and happening more frequently the last three to four months. 
Michael Serpico, of Seaford, says this is the worst the smell has been from what he can remember. 
"I've been here almost 20 years and it doesn't smell like this,” he said. “Something is wrong."
Jessica Jaeger says she and her husband moved to Seaford two years ago and love living here. The daily stench wafting in from the plant has made it hard to live in their new home.
"It makes us not want to have people over. If we leave the door open too long, it penetrates into the house,” she said. “It's really disgusting."
Cedar Creek Oversight Committee member Phillip Franco says the smell has been making him and his neighbors sick.
"Your nose burns. Your eyes burn. You could get a headache. I get a headache from it, dizzy,” he said.
The company running the plant, Veolia, said in a statement in part, "We have investigated the recent reports and found no process upsets that could be causing increased odors at this time. We have inspected the odor control equipment and continue to monitor it to ensure it is running optimally."
"They can't tell me that this is normal cause it's not. Cause I've been there when that wasn't happening,” said Franco. "If everything is running right, there shouldn't be any odor."
Neighbors tell News 12 they want Nassau County and Veolia to know they're fed up. 
"If this isn't resolved in the near future, we're going to have to consider moving,” said Jaeger.
News 12 reached out to Nassau County as well about the issue, but Nassau officials did not answer a request for comment.