An obnoxious smell in Bowmanstown can be traced to its downed sewage plant, which broke down sometime last weekend.

Darren Thomas, a member of Bowmanstown Borough Council and chair of its sewer, sanitation and authority committee, said at council’s monthly meeting Tuesday the plant stopped sometime on the weekend of Feb. 29. All bacteria in the plant responsible for breaking down waste died as a result.

That’s causing the smell.

“The operator’s statement is that when the sewer plant’s operating correctly, you shouldn’t smell anything,” Councilman Rob Moyer said. “So, that’s a sign there’s a problem.”

Thomas said the plant has to be reseeded, and an investigation has been started to find out what led to the kill.

After Thomas disclosed the plant was down, a resident spoke up: He reported a stench on Hamilton Street.

Thomas responded that wind Tuesday morning actually spread the odor throughout Bowmanstown. He started saying illegal dumping swept detritus into the sewer lines and was part of the problem, but attorney James Preston, solicitor, cut him off.

That part of the matter needed to be discussed in executive session, William Ravert, council president, said.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection ran tests at the plant Tuesday, according to Tracy Burbage, secretary.

She said the plant is still not in compliance as of Wednesday.

DEP sent a notice of violation to the borough on July 11, listing three violations, which included: inadequate sludge drying beds, a lack of dechlorination, and inflow of stormwater and groundwater into the sewer system.

DEP cited several areas in June 2018 where the effluent was over the value allowed by the permit.

In one case, fecal coliform is limited to 1,000 per 100 milliliters. When tested, the amount was 17,000 per 100 milliliters, according to the notice from DEP.

The violation letter said DEP sent a notice for similar violations in 2018.

Mark Bahnick of Van Cleef Engineering said then the current three sludge drying beds are inadequate in size.

“Too much sludge is being kept in the water process,” he said, adding DEP considers the current setup to be one that “adversely affects the process and makes effluent quality lower,” he said.

The borough has been handling the situation by paying to have the extra sludge hauled away by truck, Bahnick said. It costs less than creating additional beds.

The cost to haul it away is $11,000 a year, said Thomas.

Bowmanstown council received terms in December for a $1.5 million loan to fund a reed bed expansion at the plant after DEP cited the borough last summer. Some issues raised by the department concerting the sewage facility were inadequate sludge drying beds and a lack of dechlorination.

Council also authorized Van Cleef Engineering Associates to apply for grants late last year to bankroll improvements to its plant.