Odours in S.E. Calgary
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The City of Calgary is committed to reducing odours in the S.E. area. We work closely with communities and interested parties. The S.E. area includes residential homes and industrial operations.
How to report odours
If you notice an odour issue in your community, please report it as soon as possible to 311.
In the 311 online form, provide extra details in the “Detailed Information” field:
- Exact time you noticed odour (e.g. 1:14 .pm.)
- Location (e.g. 123 52nd Street S.E.)
- How long you noticed the odour for (e.g. about 35 minutes)
All odour service requests are reviewed and used with the odour monitoring system.
Reporting odour issues to 311 provides the odour monitoring system with critical data. Please note that odour can come and go and be very difficult to describe. Reactions to it may be different from person to person.
We thank you for filing a report as this helps evaluate and monitor the ongoing issue.
Odour sources in S.E. Calgary
S.E. communities affected by odours include:
- New Brighton
- McKenzie Towne
- Copperfield
- Douglasdale/Douglasglen
Various sources contribute to odours in the S.E. area. They may occur at the same time or at different times. This includes City of Calgary infrastructure as well as private agricultural and industrial activities in the area (not operated by The City).
No single odour source has been identified to be the biggest contributor of odour in the area.
The City’s priority is its own infrastructure where it has greater control to make a difference for odours in the area.
S.E. Calgary odour monitoring system
The City of Calgary installed the odour monitoring system to better understand odours reported in nearby communities and to help identify potential sources.
The system continuously monitors air conditions around the Shepard Landfill, Calgary Composting Facility, Biosolids Lagoons, and surrounding areas.
This system was a recommendation from the 2023 S.E. Odour Investigation work which identified multiple potential odour sources.
The monitoring station (seacan) houses sophisticated analyzing equipment to review the air samples.
How the system works
The odour monitoring system consists of over 100 sampling stations surrounding The City’s Shepard operations, including a location at the New Brighton Athletic Park.
Tubing to collect air samples was placed on existing light poles, fence posts, or specially installed towers where needed. The tubing collects air samples at different heights, from 1.5 m (5 feet) to 30 m (100 feet) above ground level. These air samples are fed back to a nearby monitoring station.
The system collects air samples 24/7. It measures levels of certain compounds in the air. This information is combined with weather data from the system’s weather stations. By tracking the wind direction, each inlet can ‘smell’ a certain compound and creates a trail back to the source. When several of these trails cross paths, a source is identified.
This data, alongside resident feedback from 311, allows The City to analyze sources when Calgarians tell us they are being most impacted. This allows The City to target the sources of odours causing the most concern for neighbouring communities.
Tubing is placed on the fence post to collect air samples from the surrounding area.
2025 odour monitoring key findings
Throughout 2025, odour monitoring data was analyzed alongside wind conditions and 311 community odour complaints to identify patterns and likely contributors.
Key findings from 2025
Offsite sources of odour
Multiple odour sources were identified, including City‑operated facilities and offsite sources west of the Shepard area.
These offsite sources were identified in about 39% of complaints, although confidence is lower in these findings due to limited monitoring coverage.
Leachate emissions
The Shepard Landfill was found to be a main source of odour, particularly in New Brighton and McKenzie Towne.
Field investigations suggested the landfill’s leachate system was a likely source of the “rotten grass” odour described in 311 complaints.
Other findings
Odour events were most common during low or variable wind conditions, when it is harder to trace a single source.
Odours from the Biosolids Lagoons and Composting Facility were occasionally detected but were not a frequent cause of 311 complaints.
Next steps
The leachate system access points at the Shepard landfill will be sealed off throughout 2026 to reduce potential odours. Leachate is a toxic liquid that forms from rain/snow encountering the garbage in the landfill and must be properly captured to protect the environment.
The monitoring results are also being used to:
- improve understanding of odour conditions
- inform operational reviews
- guide further investigation of offsite sources
- support ongoing efforts to reduce odour impacts in southeast Calgary.
Residents are encouraged to continue reporting odours, as 311 community reports remain a critical part of identifying patterns and improving odour management.
Keep reporting odours to 311
It is important that residents continue to use 311 to report when you are being impacted by odours in your neighbourhood.
Your 311 reports are critical information to be combined with all the other air monitoring and weather data that will be recorded by the monitoring system.
S.E. Odour Investigation project
Throughout 2022 and 2023, The City of Calgary worked with Jacobs Engineering to investigate the issues around odours in the S.E. area. The investigation primarily focused on City-operated facilities where it has greater control to impact odours.
Key City infrastructure
The following are City-owned infrastructure in the S.E. area and the ongoing mitigations to these facilities to help with reducing odours. Click on each tab for the latest updates.
General
General
What The City is currently working on
- City staff are partnering with S.E. community associations to provide updates as work is completed.
- A series of real-time odour monitoring sensors has been installed around the Shepard area. The system has been collecting data since early 2025. Learn more about the odour monitoring system.
- Further refine the understanding of landfill and composting City facility emissions and how they may affect nearby communities by installing additional technology that can look at some of the harder-to identify odour compounds through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) instrumentation in 2026.
Lagoons
Lagoons
Calgary’s Shepard lagoons are important to our biosolids program. They allow for the recovery and recycling of nutrient-rich organic matter for agricultural purposes.
Biosolids from the wastewater treatment plants are pumped to the Shepard Lagoons. uses this material as a soil conditioner, following the requirements from Alberta Environment and Protected Areas.
What The City is currently working on
- Lagoon maintenance work to support continued system performance and reliability is planned for 2026.
- Willow trees will be planted around the lagoons to help with odour buffering.
- Monitoring and adjusting the storage of dewatered biosolids on the storage pad to manage odour potential under varying weather and operating conditions.
Previous mitigations
Operations were modified in Spring 2023 for the dewatered Biosolids storage. Stockpiled material is no longer disturbed for at least 2 weeks whenever possible.
Moving stored material less frequently allows it to form a crust. This causes the material to create less odours when it is moved.
What do odours smell like from this location?
Ammonia, musty, earthy odours
Related links
Composting Facility
Composting Facility
The Calgary Composting Facility is an integral part of the city-wide Green Cart program. It processes around 120,000 tonnes of food and yard waste each year into finished compost.
What The City is currently working on
Facility Expansion
The Composting Facility expansion will add an anaerobic digestion system to support the existing composting process. This will allow the facility to process a larger volume of organics. It is an enclosed system that will help control the odours produced. Bio-gas will also be captured and transformed into renewable natural gas.
Construction of the anaerobic digestion system will be completed in May 2026, with performance testing of the system continuing through 2027. Learn more about the expansion here.
Operational
- Keeping facility doors closed
- Biofilter media replacement and performance monitoring
- Improved acid scrubber maintenance and performance monitoring
- Reduction of outside storage of finished compost
- Performance improvements within the curing building
- Reduction of outdoor activities during windy conditions
What do odours smell like from this location?
Acidic, wet vegetation, barnyard, peat, earthy
Related links
Landfill
Landfill
The Shepard Waste Management Facility operates a landfill and other waste disposal services.
What The City is currently working on
Throughout 2026, the Shepard Landfill is sealing the landfill leachate system access points to reduce potential emissions.
What do odours smell like from this location?
Garbage-like, sour, rotten grass/egg
Related links
Stormwater
Stormwater
Calgary is home to many storm ponds, wetlands, outfalls and other infrastructure that supports our stormwater management system. Stormwater comes from rainstorms or melting snow. It travels from storm drains in the road to an underground pipe system and ends up in our rivers.
The City manages stormwater infrastructure to reduce:
- The impact of flooding in communities
- Pollution
- Stream erosion in our waterways
What The City is currently working on
Stormwater systems are carefully managed and monitored for odour issues as needed.
What do odours smell like from this location?
Swampy, sulphur-like smell
Related links
Sewer
Sewer
All the water that is flushed down toilets, drained from bathtubs or used for washing dishes and clothes drains into a sewage collection system. This wastewater is carried through sewer pipes to one of The City’s wastewater treatment plants. The City operates around 10,000 kilometres of sewers, 92 pumping plants and three wastewater treatment plants.
What The City is currently working on
The City uses various measures to help control and reduce sewer-related odours including:
- Odour complaint response and investigation
- Sewer construction, repair and routine maintenance
- Chemical addition
- Air withdrawal and treatment from the collection system
- On-going monitoring of sewer air pressure and odour concentration
What do odours smell like from this location?
Sulphur-like smell
Other
Other
There are other odour sources that could be contributing to odours in the area. These sources include, but are not limited to:
- Private businesses
- Wetlands (south and east of the Shepard Complex)
- Other industrial sources
- Agricultural activities east of Stoney Trail
- Various food processing and manufacturing
- Stockyards and livestock processing facilities
- Hydrovac land application
- Manure
What The City is currently working on
The City's main focus is its own infrastructure where it has more control to make changes to combat odours. The City will also engage with outside parties to minimize odours wherever possible.
What do odours smell like from this location?
Swampy, sulphur-like smell, rotten egg
City infrastructure map
Frequently asked questions
Why is it so hard to detect odours?
Odours are very subjective in nature. What is offensive to one person, may not be for another. Smells are also fleeting and can be difficult to describe. Odours that appear in the area can fade in minutes before it can be reviewed.
What is The City doing to improve the odours in the S.E.?
The City is taking steps to reduce odours from our infrastructure in the area. This includes upgrading existing systems, developing new systems, and improving operations.
The largest project is an odour monitoring system. The system helps us track the most impactful odour sources.
Can we move The City infrastructure to another location?
It is not feasible to move the vital infrastructure in the area, just like it isn’t possible to move all of the homes in the area to another location. This infrastructure is vital for making our city run properly. As neighbours, we will need to work together to improve the situation.
Is there anything harmful in the air?
No. While smells may be strong at times, there is nothing dangerous in the air. The Jacobs investigation returned very low levels of all chemical compounds tested for.
How do temperature inversions impact the S.E. area?
Temperature inversions occur all over the city. They can have a significant impact on odours in the S.E. area.
Temperature inversions occur when a ‘layer’ of warmer air settles above cooler air. Warmer air is light, compared to the cool air, which is heavy and dense. This creates a ‘ceiling’ that traps the cooler air close to the surface.
When this happens, the cooler air is not able to move as it normally would. Inversions will also ‘trap’ any odours in S.E. Calgary neighbourhoods and concentrate them closer to the ground. You may also notice ‘smog’ around the city or that everyday smells such as vehicle exhaust seem stronger.
Inversions can also produce poor air quality. This can even result in special air quality statements from Environment Canada. Air quality data from the Calgary Regional Airshed Zone (CRAZ) will also typically show an increase in all monitored compounds.
What can be done about private businesses making odours?
Odours from industrial sources are related to air quality regulations. Reducing air pollution requires the involvement of different levels of governments, businesses and organizations to take action. For more information on air quality, please visit our Air Quality page.
How to submit air quality complaints:
Industrial emissions
The provincial government regulates air emissions from industrial sources. Report concerns by calling the Energy & Environment 24-7 Response Line at 1-800-222-6514.
Nuisance smoke and dust
The City prohibits activities that produce smoke, dust or other airborne matter without taking precautions. For more information, please view the Community Standards Bylaw. Report concerns by contacting 311.
What can I do to help improve odours in the neighborhood?
Please continue to report odour issues to 311 by phone or online. Record the date, time, duration and location you noticed the odour. All complaints are reviewed and tracked.
It is very important for The City to continue to receive this feedback for the odour monitoring system. It lets us know if our efforts are making a difference or if new issues are being identified.
I've already reported an odour before. Why do you need me to do it again?
Continuous reporting to 311 is needed to help keep track of odour trends.
Both technology and on-the-ground reporting from Calgarians experiencing odours is needed to provide a full picture of the issue. This data tells us whether our efforts are making a difference or if new issues are being identified.
Will the odours ever be gone?
Odours are natural for a growing and busy city. They can be found in all quadrants of Calgary. The City works to minimize odours where possible to maintain quality of life for residents. Occasional odours, while unwelcome, are not be unexpected.
Other links
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conducts independent air quality monitoring and provides real-time information on common air pollutants by quadrant.