PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — The Cypress Lakes development is a cheerful, welcoming community along Haverhill Road for retirees.
"It's absolutely beautiful," Robert DuPrey said.
WATCH BELOW: Neighbors describe 'burning garbage' smell permeating community for years
"We have a really tight-knit community," said Allen Frank. "We have a pool, we have a golf course."
There's just one thing the people living at Cypress Lakes would like to change.
"We have been suffering from a smell," DuPrey said. "I feel like kind of suffocating, like you put your head inside the trash bin."
"If I knew what burning garbage smelled like, that's what I would liken it to," neighbor Norma Fish said. "You can't have the doors open because if the wind is blowing in, it permeates the whole house."
Frank described the odor as "a lingering kind of swampy smell."
When WPTV spoke with the neighbors at about noon on a weekday, the smell was not present at the time.
The neighbors said the stench usually wafts in before dawn and dissipates by mid-morning, and has been like that for years.
"If you're sleeping, (it) wakes you up," DuPrey said. "If you are awake, it knocks you down."
"It's just kind of been one of those things, well, we just accept it here," Frank said. "And maybe we shouldn't."
SCENT OF SEWAGE
Several days after meeting with the neighbors, WPTV returned to the neighborhood at about 6 a.m.
Flags and trees were almost perfectly still, as there was no wind that morning. While not overwhelming, there was a detectable scent of sewage.
As the crow flies, the entrance to Cypress Lakes sits about 2.5 miles from the North County Landfill and less than a mile from the East Central Regional Water Reclamation Facility, which processes wastewater for multiple cities across Palm Beach County.
WPTV filed public records requests for complaints submitted by Cypress Lakes residents regarding odor at both facilities, but no records were available.
Representatives for the landfill and wastewater facility declined interviews, but responded via email.
"We do not believe that the (Solid Waste) Authority's landfill is the source of the odor for several reasons," said Solid Waste Authority spokesman Willie Puz, citing distance and weather among the reasons.
Puz also listed several steps SWA takes to mitigate odor at the landfill, including its active gas collection system and an odor-neutralizing mist, among other measures required by state and federal law.
As for the water reclamation facility, the West Palm Beach Utilities Administration said while "upsets at the facility may result in odors," there haven't been any upsets there in months.
"Weather conditions play a significant factor in how far odors may travel downwind from the facility and remain noticeable," the administration said. "Nearby properties, such as Cypress Lakes, are susceptible to odors when weather conditions direct the winds from the facility to the property. The facility is in compliance with the regulatory requirement to properly operate and maintain the treatment process and avoid upset conditions that could impact nearby properties."
"That is something which the (homeowner's) association and real estate agent should have included — disclosed," DuPrey said.
Realtor Sandy Ballantyne, who did not sell DuPrey his home but has done business on the west side of West Palm Beach, said realtors are not required to disclose an odor near a home because it does not materially affect the property.
However, Ballantyne said, "If I know about it, I will disclose it."
"LET YOUR AGENT KNOW"
Since showings usually don't take place at the crack of dawn, Ballantyne said she wasn't aware of the odor, but offered advice to people looking for their next home.
"Drive the area, talk to the neighbors," Ballantyne said. "Let your agent know what's important to you."
WPTV spoke over the phone with the Cypress Lakes Master HOA president and vice president, who declined on-camera interviews.
They shared that they are aware of the smell, and said when DuPrey brought it to their attention, they invited other neighbors to share their thoughts. No one really took them up on it, they said.
The HOA leadership said the smell is low on their priority list because it's not a health hazard, and there's not much they can do about what they referred to as an "occasional nuisance," that's not coming from anywhere inside the community.
They added that they are in the process of mitigating a different odor coming from one of the ponds in the community, and the repairs are nearly complete.
