Unpleasant smell from sewer replacement project in SF

SAN FRANCISCO - You can't see it, but there is something lingering in the air in the area near San Francisco's Panhandle. 

Some people in San Francisco have been contending with a literal neighborhood stink. San Francisco's Public Utilities Commission says neighbors may have to put up with the smell into next year.

"Just kind of smells like burning rubber sort of…it's not great you can smell it from pretty far away," said resident Lyn Stoler.

The smell comes and goes and has even created whole discussion threads on Nextdoor, as neighbors try to figure out the source of the smell. 

A major clue is the work underway along Oak Street, as crews replace an aging sewer line. 

"What people are smelling is a specific type of project called cured-in-place pipe," said Joseph Sweiss with the San Francisco's Public Utilities Commission. "It's an innovative, but industry standard practice that we use to replace our sewer infrastructure."

The smell is the new pipe. 

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"We put a specialized resin in and through the pipes that then hardens or cures and essentially created an entirely new pipe within it," said Sweiss.

The traditional alternative would require digging a trench down Oak Street, one of the city's busiest commute corridors. So, the PUC says while the smell may be unpleasant, it's better than the alternative and is safe.  

"During the course of the work we have real-time continuous monitoring of the levels in the air, and we're finding that during the course of this project, they are 100 times lower than state safety standards," said Sweiss.

Neighbors say while they may not love it, they understand. 

"I don't want the smell, and sometimes it feels a little bit inconvenient, but I really do appreciate that the city is investing in infrastructure improvements," said Stoler.

The project is moving along the Panhandle and in the Sunset. The work typically takes a couple of days before moving on to the next segment, so residents won't have to put up with the smell for too long.

The sewer replacement project is set to run into the spring of next year.