NEW ALBANY, Miss. (WTVA) -- New Albany High School tennis coach Warner Creekmore and Bo Bowman, the director of tennis, warm up while they wait for their students to arrive.
The weather is just right, and on this day, the wind is blowing in their favor.
"On warm days or on hot days and when the wind is blowing just right, it can be an awful smell," Creekmore said.
She's talking about the wastewater treatment plant, which is located sometimes a little too close for comfort if you ask one of the students.
"It can get pretty bad sometimes, but it's not very often that you smell it, but you can smell it once you smell it," Walter Smith said.
Bowman says he's been around the smell long enough to get used to it.
"I really don't notice it that much. I just have some players who come out that make a comment about it and try to tell them what it is but don't notice it that much," Bowman said.
What they smell is untreated wastewater and all that comes with it.
Someone definitely not used to the smell is wastewater treatment plant neighbor Betty Black.
"Sometimes if the wind is in the right direction, you can't stay out in the yard in the afternoon," Black said.
Help may be on the way to minimize he smell.
"We're looking into new technologies, and there are different technologies we can use to suppress the odor," New Albany Mayor Tim Kent said.
"It would more or less sequester the odor and neutralize when it first comes into the plant. There's another technology that would require installation of piping around our canals here, and it would introduce a chemical in an on demand type of fashion," New Albany Light, Gas and Water general manager Bill Mattox said.
There are many more questions than answers about which avenue to pursue and how much each would cost.
Officials may examine what other cities are doing to minimize the smell at their wastewater plants.
