Phew! Phone in that smell

One man described the smell as "a wet dog that rolled in manure."

Another woman said that for the past 13 years, a stench similar to rotten eggs has permeated the air near her Woodland home.

About 18 complaints of a pungent, foul odor drifting through Woodland's east side were logged this month on the city's new 24-hour odor hotline.

"Residents were complaining that it smelled awful, but they were not giving specifics," said Loida Osoteo, the city public environmental services manager who also answers hotline calls. "Now when they say it stinks, they have to be more specific about what they smell."

The complaints are not confined to east Woodland. Nationwide, more people are flocking toward smaller rural towns that grow next to active farmland and all the associated foul odors.

The stench of farm animals, manure and food processing facilities can be a problem for residents, especially those unaccustomed to rural life, said Edward Thompson Jr., California state director of American Farmland Trust.

"The conflict of urban encroachment in rural areas has been going on for years," Thompson said.

Starting in the early 1980s, many states adopted "Right to Farm" laws to protect farmers from lawsuits by residents who complained of odor, dust and noise, Thompson said. The idea was to shield farmers from lawsuits if they were on the land first.

Most laws are more protective of the average resident, Thompson said, adding that the first line of defense for farmers is for communities not to grow near agricultural land in the first place.

Farmland preservation has been key for agricultural centers such as Yolo County, which is facing increasing development pressures from Sacramento and the Bay Area.

From 1990 to 2004, Yolo County lost 4,514 acres of farmland to urban development, in which 50 percent was considered high-quality farmland, according to "A New Perspective of California Farmland Conversion," a report to be issued by American Farmland Trust.

During that same time period, 326,521 acres of farmland statewide were developed, with 28 percent of the land deemed high-quality farmland, the report said.

Farmers have worked to be good neighbors by adjusting their schedules. They may opt not to harvest their crops at night or to not spray pesticide when the winds blow in a certain direction, Thompson said. Some communities also are experimenting with physical barriers to help protect residents from noise, odors and other problems.

But the hotline may be a newer tactic. Thompson said that during his 30-year career he has not heard of an odor hotline to address complaints about farmland.

An Internet search revealed a few odor hotlines operated by communities across the country. Des Moines, Iowa, has an odor hotline, odor board and odor ordinance to check offensive smells emitted from businesses and industry.

The city will issue an "odor alert" if its hotline receives 10 calls of a similar nature within a six-hour period.

Woodland's odor hotline number was established by the city this month to help investigate a recent flood of complaints about musty smells. The problem seems to be seasonal and more prevalent in areas where homes meet vast acres of farmland, city officials said.

"We have had a couple of issues about odor, but when you live in a food processing area and near sewer areas, you're going to get those problems every once in a while," said Marlin "Skip" Davies, Woodland vice mayor.

Odor problems in Woodland have improved over the past several years as those in the farming industry try "to be good corporate citizens and work on odor mitigation," Davies said. Most residents who live in rural areas understand the problem, Davies said.

Woodland's odor hotline is operated by the city's Environmental Operations division, at the Water Pollution Control Facility in east Woodland. People who call the hotline are asked to provide their name, contact information and the time, place and wind direction when the odor was detected.

Residents are asked to give a brief description of the odor and they are given examples, such as musty, pungent, compost-like, vinegar-like, swampy, sawdust-like, rotten eggs and wet hay.

"Different noses have different descriptions," hotline operator Osoteo said.

It was no surprise, Osoteo said, that the city's wastewater treatment plant was identified as one of two main stinky culprits. The other offender was Pacific Coast Producers, a tomato cannery near Interstate 5 and County Road 102, she said.

Plant supervisor Craig Powell declined to comment and referred calls to the company's attorney.

The tomato wastewater at Pacific Coast Producers was releasing a strong odor, Osoteo said. A consultant hired by the city suggested adding calcium nitrate, sodium sulfite and chlorine dioxide to the wastewater.

The solution seems to have worked. Osoteo said the last complaint made to the hotline was Sept. 11.

The city is investigating at least two other potential sources of odors, Osoteo said.

"But for now, it's peace and quiet," she said.

About the writer:

• The Bee's Lakiesha McGhee can be reached at (916) 321-1121 or lmcghee@sacbee.com.