There’s been a big stink in the Woolen Mills neighborhood, but yesterday’s action by the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority may lessen the smells. As reported by the Daily Progress this morning, the Authority board voted yesterday to truck its waste off-site instead of composting at the edge of a neighborhood, as it has done for at least a decade.

The action comes with a cost. In addition to any lost revenue (yes, some folks would buy the compost), the trucking and disposal will, according to an official Authority report, raise water/sewer bills for all water users, including those in Albemarle County, by six percent.

Yet, as the Hook’s Courteney Stuart reported in late September, any finanancial pain may be accompanied by olfactory gain. She also reported that Authority director Tom Frederick pointed out that Charlottesville is the only city he could find that operates a human waste composting operation in a densely populated area.

Stuart’s interviews with neighbors as well as Lisa Provence’s interviews back in March found widespread outrage, with one neighbor branding the facility “the mother of all outhouses.”

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