THERE’S SOMETHING ROTTEN in the streets of Drogheda – although nobody is quite sure what it is.

A reportedly very bad smell in Drogheda – likened to sewerage or, in the words of one local, “shite” – has repeatedly been sensed in the air over the past week.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) told The Journal that it had received a “number of odour complaints in relation to the Drogheda area” over recent days.

“These complaints are currently under investigation by the EPA to determine whether they relate to a licensed site in Drogheda,” a spokesperson for the environmental watchdog said.

It was at its strongest last weekend according to a number of locals who spoke to The Journal.

Uisce Éireann got blamed by a number of locals, but the water company stressed that it had investigated its local plant and ruled out itself as the culprit.

Having investigated any issues at its local sites, a spokesperson for Uisce Éireann said it could “confirm there are no operational issues at Drogheda Wastewater Treatment Plant that would give rise to odours.

It’s likely the company was wrongly fingered initially as issues at the local wastewater treatment plant were previously a cause of questionable odours.

This was because wastewater was often taking a longer time than is normal to travel through Drogehda’s winding pipes, being held in the sewer for lengthy periods before arriving at the plant for treatment.

However, that has been addressed thanks to investment of three years ago.

“I know the wastewater plant was giving much trouble a few years back and we had those regular smells. But it’s more rare than regular nowadays,” local Fianna Fail councillor James Byrne told The Journal.

Byrne said the direction of wind is its own factor in spreading the smells, with the source of the current odours potentially arising from a few different agricultural sources in his view. “It was quite bad during the week and can sometimes smell like silage,” he said.

UÉ as they are getting blamed by lots of people and have now commented on it. They were to blame in years gone by for local odours but mainly fixed that with big investment three years ago

It’s not the first such smell reported this week. In Waterford, a “sickening” smell made its way through the city centre on Monday morning.

The EPA traced that one back to a malfunctioning cooker at a meat rendering plant across the River Suir.