Fairfield officials say neighbors should be able to breathe easy again by this spring.

John Bodie, the superintendent of the Water Pollution Control Authority, says complaints of a smell wafting through the air started at the end of September. He says it was because a cleaning processor broke.

The processor is called a primary digester and it helps to break down the sewage while reducing odor.

Bodie says they got two bids for the repair, and they will accept the $1.4 million bid. The money will come out of the Water Pollution Control Authority fund.

“Without the primary digester, the destruction of solids doesn't happen – so we’re processing raw sludge and wasted activated sludge,” Bodie says.

Bodie says it will hopefully be fixed by the spring, and neighbors can start breathing in some fresher air.