VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Residents in the Windsor Woods community are dealing with a strange smell coming from Thalia Creek behind their homes, with some saying the odor has become so unbearable that they have to leave their houses at times.
The water doesn't look very pleasant, News 3 Reporter Danielle Saitta says it doesn't smell pleasant either, while she was there with neighbor Jesse Gray.
"I don't know if it's carbon monoxide or pneumonia methane. It just smells like a mixture of gas," Jesse said.
Jesse, who has lived in the neighborhood since 2011, said the problems began in 2018.
He said the creek wasn't always problematic. Before the dredging project, his family could enjoy outdoor activities without issue.
"We could go outside, cook out. We have a pool in the backyard, have pool parties, kids outside playing all the time. But after 2018, 2019, when they did the dredge project right here, I think they dredged from here down most of the creek," Jesse said. "Once they did that dredge project in 2019, they pulled a bunch of material and dirt off the bottom of the creek, then we started to have this putrid smell."
It's a sour subject for Jesse as he is in the process of renovating his home, wondering if he needs to leave.
"It's unbearable to be outside, and now we can smell it through the walls of our house, so we will have to leave at times when it gets too bad. I mean, it's just unbearable to live around here at this point," Jesse said.
"We get headaches from time to time when we are in the house, and I work full-time now remote, so it's hard to concentrate from time to time. So whatever is going on, it's starting to affect us," he continued.
Beyond the smell, pictures show small white pockets popping up in the water.
"At low tide, you can see these little white volcanoes bubble up and almost burst. I've never seen a body of water do anything like that," Jesse said.
Two weeks ago, the city collected water samples from the creek, and Jesse said he wanted to know the results.
On Friday, there was a meeting between neighbors and city officials, though the media was not allowed to attend.
Residents Sarah Gray and Wendy Bentley expressed frustration with the city's response during the meeting.
"What happened... a whole bunch of nothing. There were some explanations of decomposition and things like that, and they're trying to say that it's all natural, but they also described human waste as decomposition, so that didn't make me feel any better," Sarah said.
Sarah said she requested testing from the city.
"The two things I wanted from them personally was to test on the date of a release or within 24 hours of that release," she said, referring to the release of the gas bubble.
"They're not interested, and I also asked them to test for gas, what gases are being released, what levels are being released, and they are not going to do that at this point. They say they are going to wait on the state and direction from them," Sarah continued.
In a statement, the City of Virginia Beach said, "While an odor is present, the source appears to be a natural biological process rather than a mechanical or chemical issue."
The statement explained that elevated levels found in testing are likely related to natural materials, like leaves or grass clippings, as well as household sources, such as detergents or cleaning agents entering the stormwater system.
The city said it will be working with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality moving forward and will keep the community informed about next steps.
The neighbors say the city is asking them for some time to try to correct the issue.
"They say give them two weeks, so we will give them two weeks. And then what? We don't know, we might have to get attorneys involved," Sarah said.
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