Water filtration plant contributing to Albany smell plans upgrades

The Albany County Water Purification District is planning to make upgrades at their facility to hopefully reduce what DEC believes has been the likely source of the foul odors enveloping parts of the North Albany area.

The facility has been working to improve their system for a couple years – long before DEC sent them a violation for the lingering sewage smell, according to Executive Director Angelo Gaudio. This should help mitigate the odor.

“We are bonding 65 million for sludge processing improvements – part of that project is upgrades to the sludge mixing system. This project was originally submitted to the DEC back in 2022,” he said.

NewsChannel 13 first reported about an unpleasant odor near the I-787, I-90 interchange in April. DEC visited various locations and found mechanical failures at the Albany County Water Purification District plant.