Maggie Davidson tried for months to convince the City of Salmon Arm there was something fouling the storm sewer near her downtown business, Spirit Quest Books.
A neighbouring business complained a year ago about the smell of sewage coming from the storm drain as well, to no avail.
“They came out and said there’s no problem,” says Jacalyn Hays, owner of Bella Interiors. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know what sewage smells like.”
As the months past last year, the smell would come and go, according to Hays.
The City of Salmon Arm finally investigated and found a nearby property’s sewer line had been connected to the storm sewer instead.
Dale McTaggart, Director of Engineering with the City, says the mistake happened on private property. Because the city doesn’t require a permit for private sewer work, they’ll likely never know how it happened.
The lines have been dug up and the problem has finally been fixed.
The business owners who were affected by the stench for months believe the City should take complaints more seriously in the future.
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