Mystery Of Royal Oak Odor Persists

ROYAL OAK, MI — The source of northwest Royal Oak’s funky odor is still a mystery. Despite investigative work by Consumers Energy and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, among others, nobody has been able to figure out what the smell is or where exactly it’s coming from, according to Royal Oak city leaders.

The odor was first reported on Oct. 9 in the area of Crooks and 14 Mile roads. Residents called the fire department and Consumers for answers about the odor, which was described as natural gas-like to sewer-like.

The city held a meeting on Nov. 13 to devise a game plan for combating the odor. Royal Oak and Birmingham officials attended as did the MDEQ, Oakland County Water Resources and the Great Lakes Water Authority.

Leaders discovered that the areas where the odor has been most noticeable is near Coolidge Highway and 14 Mile Road, Nakota Road and Woodland Avenue, just southeast of 14 Mile Road and Woodward Avenue. A portion of Birmingham, near Eaton Academy School, Embury United Methodist Church and along Dunstable Road, have also been affected.

Consumers has done extensive testing and not detected natural gas, the city said in a news release. A HazMat Team from the Royal Oak Fire Department has also used specialized sampling equipment throughout the area to try and pinpoint what could be causing the odor, but without luck.

Royal Oak City Engineer Matt Callahan told the Daily Tribune one possible explanation is that a high number of complaints appear to be coming from areas where pipes handle both sewer and rainwater runoff. The newspaper reported those pipes run along Nakota and Samoset and eventually into Birmingham.

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