Foul stench stumps Las Vegas officials

LAS VEGAS – Along with neon lights and casinos, the downtown area of Las Vegas has become known for the “Stench of Fremont Street” – and city officials are fed up.

“I’m not a connoisseur,” said City Engineer Charlie Kajkowski, “but it smells.”

The stink emanating from the storm sewers has plagued the area around the Fremont Street pedestrian mall for a decade, and every time the city has thrown time, effort and deodorizer at the problem, the “sewer-type” aroma has returned.

On Wednesday, the City Council is to consider a $100,000 consulting contract aimed at finding the source of the olfactory offense.

A tiny closed-circuit television system would be used to examine the downtown storm drains, smoke would be pumped into the system to identify outlets and dye would be used to follow water flows.

The storm drain smell has become more obvious since the city started scrubbing out alleys in April, said City Manager Doug Selby.

“When you eliminate one odor, others that were masked by those odors become more apparent,” he said.