In search of the story behind that big stink | Environment

Some are trying to get to the bottom of a notorious stink.

The stench is known to rise from the waters of Puget Sound, and pierce the nostrils of area residents.

So city employee Dan Smith and volunteer Nathan Filbert are on a mission to get to the bottom of the issue.

So far they know seaweed, or sea lettuce, is at the center of the problem. They're now trying to figure out what makes it stink like rotten eggs on occasion.

"At first I thought something was rotting in our garage," said Filbert.

In 2005 and 2006, the smell permeated the entire Dumas Bay area of Federal Way, so much so it made folks gag.

"It was very bad," said area resident Linda Ellingson. "We'd be inside our homes with the doors closed, and it was almost just like a raw sewage type smell."

So the city secured a $100,000 grant from the state to study the smell and figure out why it happens some years and not others.

"As the lower layers of the sea lettuce begin to break down and decompose, it becomes anaerobic and that's the condition where you're going to get gas formation," said Smith.

But the outburst of hydrogen sulfide gas hasn't happened in the last several years.

"No readings yet this summer. No odor complaints," said Smith.

Even though many residents want something done about all of this stink, others think Mother Nature should be left alone.

But if the stench returns and is deemed a health hazard, the city will apply for permits to scoop it up and take it away.

"That, should it become worse again, would be the obvious solution, but we have to be very careful with the delicate ecosystem," said Ellingson.

For now, they're only studying it and waiting to see if the stench returns.