A St. David's woman is at her wit's end after years of wrangling with the Bermuda Land Development Company (BLDC) over the stench coming from a sewage treatment plant on Texas Road.

Lorene Phillips expressed frustration with what she described as "being pushed from one place to another" since she has engaged in lengthy correspondence with the BLDC and government officials since 1998.

Mrs. Phillips said when she and her husband raised red flags the moment they saw the plant near their intended property.

The plant had been operated by the US Navy before it vacated the baselands in 1995.

"The first time we saw the plant we informally enquired whether it would be used in the future," she said. "We were told it would not." But, according to Mrs. Phillips, that was not the case: "We started building our home in February 2000, and noticed the smell. Soon after we sent a letter to the BLDC."

After receiving a response from then vice-president of facilities and engineering, Peter Uhlman, the Phillips' were hopeful the situation would be rectified, but maintained that nothing had changed.

Mrs. Phillips said that the foul odour sometimes permeated the neighbourhood so badly that residents had to shut their windows and doors to keep the stench out of their homes.

The Phillips' keep a detailed log of when the smell hits their neighbourhood to show how often it takes place. However, Mrs. Phillips emphasised that frequency was not the issue: "It's the intensity that bothers us. It should not be happening at all."

Mrs. Phillips said the matter was turned over by the BLDC to the Department of Health. She said officials who visited the site compiled a report and made several recommendations to alleviate the problem, but in her opinion, nothing substantial has been done.

"A few of the suggestions we've heard are cost-effective, but I feel this is taking a band-aid approach," she said.

Mrs. Phillips said she had made several calls to Works and Engineering Minister Alex Scott since March this year, but has yet to hear from him. She said she even sent him a letter as recently as a week ago today.

While he acknowledged that he has not spoken the Phillips' for some time, Mr. Scott said he has been actively working to remedy the situation to the best of the Ministry's ability.

"We are in the process of investing a second installment of $50,000 to solve the problem," he said.

Citing plans which included replacing filter covers and buying a higher grade of charcoal to neutralise the smell, Mr. Scott said the primary cause of the problem was that the amount of sewage treated was far less than what the plant was designed to handle. "Because there is not a large volume of material to treat, when the pump stops, sewage sits in the pipes, causing the foul smell the residents are experiencing, he said. "If the plant received more waste, the problem would be lessened."

Mr. Scott sympathised with the residents' plight, but said it was not feasible to fully cover the plant or even move it, as some residents would like: "It would cost up to $4 million to move it and close to $5 million to totally enclose it." He commended the Phillips' patience and vowed to bring the stench to a minimum: "We understand their frustration and apologise for this. We will work harder to solve this."

But the question of when this is going to happen burdens Mrs. Phillips.

"I am confident something is gong to be done," she said. "But when? After spending lots of money to build our dream home and for this to be taking place is very emotionally taxing."

Saying she does not want to move even if the stench continues, Mrs. Phillips added: "I don't want to live anywhere else. This is our home. The residents need to be given back the quality of life that we deserve."