HOUSTON—Some southwest Houston residents say that something is stinking up their neighborhood. 11 News went "nosing” around and found out that something foul is definitely in the air.
In fact, the smell is so bad many have had to leave their homes.
“It smelled like gas or something, you know, strong,” said Lida Nieto.
People have been complaining about a strong odor for the past two nights that is creating more than a minor nuisance.
“I’ve had a headache and my throat aches and so last night, I couldn’t take it anymore. So I went and stayed with my daughter on Highway 6,” said homeowner Barbara Hills.
Residents have been placing calls to CenterPoint Energy, worried about possible gas leaks. But as it turns out, CenterPoint has nothing to do with the problem.
The stench is coming from a City of Houston water treatment plant in the 10500 block of Bellaire. The city’s Environmental Investigation Unit said it appears a private company is illegally dumping something into the city’s wastewater system.
“We have a company that, their main job is taking third-party wastewater in and processing that wastewater to make it neutral, before releasing it to the city,” said Officer Steve Dicker, Environmental Investigations Unit.
But investigators said the contaminated water made its way to the city plant and criminal charges could be filed.
