Sewage smells across Oakland causing concern for students and everyday passers

Many students across campus have encountered strong sewage smells when walking through Oakland, raising concerns about health and public safety at Pitt. Although brief exposure to sewage odors, such as walking by a manhole, pose “no risk to health” according to Molly Stitt-Fischer, director of environmental health and safety at Pitt, students are still unsatisfied. 

Aashi Patel, a first-year undeclared student, said her smelling experience across campus “is so bad,” highlighting the strong smells outside of the Amos Hall Starbucks on Fifth Avenue.

“I literally have had to walk with my hand over my nose for, like, a good two, three minutes,” Patel said. 

In Nordenberg Hall, it sometimes smells “so bad” that the scents “linger into the hallway and linger into the rooms,” Cindy Hy, a first-year undeclared student, said. Hy attributes this to Nordenberg’s location near the Fifth Avenue manhole. 

Odors across campus may be associated with hydrogen sulfide, according to Stitt-Fischer, who reassures that exposure to this gas can only pose health risks “at high levels.” 

For those concerned, Stitt-Fischer highlighted that hydrogen sulfide levels can be found and tracked online as part of the Allegheny County Health Department’s air quality management program.

Patel questioned the source of the odors, especially outside of Hillman Library — which she said “always smells bad.”  

“I don’t know if it’s because of the construction, or the cars, or what it is, but it just does not smell nice,” Patel said. “Definitely affects my mood, for sure.”

Jonathan Burgess, director of the Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory, said construction work, including digging or electrical line work, often fosters the concerning smells around Oakland. The overall odor could be “residual backup smells from the combined [sewage] system,” he said.

“In general, sewage and water all basically flow into a very old system owned by the PWSA [Pittsburgh Water Sewage Authority],” Burgess said, “and it all ends up in one pipe down the hill.”

Much of the sewage and drainage issues go back to the “old” sewage system on campus, according to Burgess. These older systems may not be able to handle the changing weather as a result of climate change, including “heavier precipitation events.”

“The system just gets backed up and it can’t handle all the volume that’s going through,” Burgess said. “When that happens, there’s two options — one is a combined sewer overflow discharge opens up and it goes directly into the bond, or it can’t get enough out that way sometimes, [so it’ll] back up into buildings, sometimes even come out of manholes or storm drains.”

Tikki Bhardwaj, a first-year undeclared student, noted drainage issues across upper campus. When it rains, she reported that the area “does not drain at all.”

“It’s a huge puddle, and my shoes get wet,” Bhardwaj said. “Even if you did want to avoid it, you have to go around and then hang on to the freaking fence.”

The Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory is a research center dedicated to connecting the Pitt community with partners and addressing “regional water issues that are important to people,” Burgess said. The sewage and smell issues fall under this category.

“It could include everything from environmental justice and equity issues in drinking water systems to aging infrastructure, water planning services or habitat for fish and mussels,” Burgess said. “Basically, just looking at issues related to water across the region and trying to help the University.”

When it comes to the health concerns relating to the sewage and its odor, Pitt researchers investigate the health risks of exposure to bacteria which can instill “mold growth” in places like a wet basement or other buildings, according to Burgess. 

Stella Bray, a first-year public health major, is frustrated by the overall uncleanliness across campus. 

“We’re paying so much for tuition,” Bray said. “When you walk down the stairs in the back of Towers that’s in front of Lawrence, there’s always a terrible smell.” 

Scott Bernotas, vice chancellor for facilities management, urged students who are concerned to reach out to Pittsburgh’s 311 service with anything from sewage odor to damaged sidewalks. 

“Being part of an urban campus means that are several layers to utility management,” Bernotas said. “Once [the city service] receive[s] a report, they take action to get the right people involved.”