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What's that smell?
updated: Jul 14, 2012, 10:25 AM

By Edhat Staff

Edhat has been receiving numerous emails from subscribers about a certain stench east of State Street. Here is what some subscribers have sent us within the last few minutes:

The whole town stinks! Was there a sewage spill?

There seems to be smell of CRAP, in the air. I'm up on E. Figueroa and my neighbor smells it as well. Said it smells all the way down from Ortega. Anyone know what it might be?

What's that smell? I live at Anapamu and Olive... it smells like there's a landfill in my backyard. Anyone else smelling this in the area? It's very strong!

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

ROGER DODGER	2012-07-14 10:30 AM
I'm sorry that was me Dog!!! You can smell it all the way over there?! I gotta cut back on the lentil..
COMMENT 297493	2012-07-14 10:32 AM
Something did happen downtown. A family member of mine works for one of the theaters downtown and in the concession area where they sell the food, sewage started to overflow out of drains on the floors..they had to close up for a couple of days to get everything fixed and cleaned.
COMMENT 297497	2012-07-14 10:43 AM
@493 - the smell was only noticeable this morning, so I really doubt that was the cause if it happen a couple of days ago.
COMMENT 297498	2012-07-14 10:44 AM
I think it's the Marborg facility.
COMMENT 297501	2012-07-14 10:50 AM
I think it's due to the new influx of vagrants on State Street.
COMMENT 297505	2012-07-14 10:52 AM
Could be that "free mulch" from the dump the gardening companies are spreading around. It's horrible.
ROGER DODGER	2012-07-14 10:55 AM
We over hear on the EAST SIDE wanted to share the turd refuge with the whole city so we moved it downtown over night.
COMMENT 297511	2012-07-14 11:00 AM
Take a shower and everything will smell better!
COMMENT 297523	2012-07-14 11:28 AM
Edhat at its best is a wonderful/helpful place to post and receive valuable and quick information. It would be nice to be able to get that information without having to plow through people's exchange of "humor" and sarcasm. Maybe there should be two links on each submission - one whereby people who have something of value and responsive to the topic to click on and a second where people who wish to contribute their humor/sarcasem go to. Readers can choose whether they read (1) helpful/responsive information; (2) "humor" and even (3) where we can already (if we choose) read Nanny censored material (or maybe 2 and 3 can be combined).
COMMENT 297524	2012-07-14 11:29 AM
Put it in the ocean. We will flush the Pacific at a later time.
COMMENT 297529	2012-07-14 11:32 AM
Tennis Bum, your post was so boring I made it through just the first line and a half before I decided that you were just doing what you likely are complaining about. Lol
COMMENT 297537	2012-07-14 11:51 AM
I agree Tennis Bum. Some of it is funny, but most of it isn't, and quite a bit is mean spirited. I could do without that. To stay on topic, I did notice the stench yesterday while I was at work in SB. I live in Goleta, and I don't think the stench has permeated this far north!
COMMENT 297540	2012-07-14 12:01 PM
Get a sense of humor, Tennis Bum. Edhat's humorous / sarcastic comments make it worth reading.
COMMENT 297549	2012-07-14 12:22 PM
Maybe there should be a different Edhat for stuffy people with no sense of humor?
COMMENT 297553P	2012-07-14 12:31 PM
The Bird Refuge no longer smells (and there have been NO comments that I have seen at least about that, none compared with all the earlier comments!) Maybe, knowing we needed something to complain about, the stink moved west? (By the way, how did the Bird Refuge get reasonably scent-free?)
COMMENT 297556P	2012-07-14 12:32 PM
Tennis Bum, you would not last 10 seconds on other boards, like say, oh - fark.com. I've had more then my share of beat downs on that one which is why I am now on this one. That and this one is local. On point, this makes me glad I live out here in Noleta. No stench here.
ROGER DODGER	2012-07-14 01:02 PM
Co'mon Humorous comments are cool but lettuce not start this cutting each other down scrap..I bet they dumped some other chemicals in the Turd Refuge to mask the real odor of Santa Barbara.
COMMENT 297575	2012-07-14 01:13 PM
It is tedious to read through the banter to get useful information. Some of the posters are funny to eveyone, many are funny only to themselves.
COMMENT 297576	2012-07-14 01:16 PM
TENNISBUM.... live and let live. No one made you the cultural and social etiquette judge of the InterNets - that I know of. If they did... congratulations. To the OP.... sorry to hear about the infrastructure break down downtown. Your post really brings home how much we rely on working wastewater pipes. And as I'm finding out this weekend it's not cheap replacing them (I'm in Noleta so it's not MY pipes smelling up your good times). 7505.... I LOVE the smell of composting mulch!!! Beats diesel fumes, car exhaust and second hand cigarette smoke ANY day.
REDTOP	2012-07-14 01:21 PM
TENNIS BUM has some very good points. Edhat can be a source of excellent information and that's why I log on and PAY for the privilege. Inevitably the sarcastic and cutting comments are made by those who prefer to remain anonymous and/or do not financially support this site. Too bad all the way around.
COMMENT 297579	2012-07-14 01:24 PM
Good idea Tennis Bum, please contribute future posts on dedhat dot com.
COMMENT 297585	2012-07-14 01:32 PM
Easy solution to Tennis Bum - A poster can simply begin his/her post with one of three words: 1. -Instructive- or 2. -Comic- or 3. -Sarcastic- Easy, peasy, Japaneasy!
COMMENT 297589	2012-07-14 01:43 PM
Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy....
COMMENT 297590	2012-07-14 01:43 PM
Factual with Jokes I'm told there was a power outtage yesterday on State. No doubt the sewage pumps are electric. I think it's great that tourists will be getting a whiff of Santa Barbara behind the scenes.
COMMENT 297594P	2012-07-14 02:11 PM
549 - Sure, two EdHat's The seriously serious one could be "Top EdHat" & the regular, garden variety version, Ed Hat. Hip, hip.
COMMENT 297650	2012-07-14 04:11 PM
I like all the banter, sarcasm, wit, thoughtful advice, insight, facts, and even the put downs....often I learn more from someone who is presenting a completely different thought than I had, I come here to learn, and to laugh. If I wanted a fact blog I would go somewhere else. Stinky smells are funny, gross, and illicit jokes...sorry that you are bothered by that Tennis.....
COMMENT 297659	2012-07-14 04:37 PM
@553, The plan to rid the Bird Refuge of its stench was in the end a simple one, and pretty low tech. An outboard motor boat plied the refuge for several hours over a couple of days. That was apparently enough to aerate the water to reduce the algae bloom caused smell.
ROGER DODGER	2012-07-14 06:14 PM
For now but it doesn't take care of the pollution and band aide fix..
COMMENT 297685	2012-07-14 06:55 PM
why not put a motor in the pond at all times and flip a switch every few days?
COMMENT 297698	2012-07-14 07:46 PM
Or a series of fountain heads.
COMMENT 297702P	2012-07-14 08:08 PM
@529 - agree @Tennisbum - good points, but it should be a separate post.
COMMENT 297709P	2012-07-14 08:16 PM
Great summer "work" idea for teens - Can't you hear it now on the first day? "Ok, Eddie & Sam, all ya gotta do is speed around in this motor boat for 8 hours per day havin' fun. Got it? Oh, you can come to shore every 2 hrs for a 15 min. break & just go ahead and take yer lunch in the boat & I'll let ya off 30 min. early as long as the stink is gone. Are we cool?"
COMMENT 297734P	2012-07-14 10:34 PM
297659: Thank you. I had read of the motor boat earlier and it's great it worked so well. Natural ponds without inflow and outflow (or unnatural ones) like that one, or like Zaca Lake do always have an algae problem in the summer. The smell was (and will be again) a natural one, but the extent was extreme. Wonderful to be able to take care of it so quickly. Thanks, Parks Director Nancy Rapp, and those at the Parks who did the work.
COMMENT 297770	2012-07-15 08:19 AM
I agree with Tennis Bum....I read the comments hoping to learn what the source of the smell was or how far it had spread. Some real information would have been nice. I think most people just want attention and have very little of substance to say - and Edhat is their outlet!
SBJULES	2012-07-15 11:00 AM
So it's a day later; does it still stink?
COMMENT 297887	2012-07-15 05:09 PM
The stink lasted about two hours. Maybe this is the start of another great Hollywood horror movie. Santa Barbara Stinks in 3D!
COMMENT 297919	2012-07-15 08:25 PM
Then a good thing that Channelkeepers have persuaded the city to fix the old sewer pipes!

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