Measuring the wellbeing and health impacts of sewage odour

The location of necessary public works, such as sewage treatment or waste disposal, produce negative externalities for the surrounding population. It is now possible to quantify the negative associations between odour from sewage treatment works (STWs) and the self-reported wellbeing of individuals. This chapter analyses the association between geographical proximity to sewage treatment works and subjective wellbeing (SWB). It controls for a range of factors, including the size of the plant, the presence of odour reduction technologies, and relevant individual covariates such as age, employment status, marital status and others. The study finds that living close to an odour-emitting STW is negatively correlated with life satisfaction. This implies that people would be willing to forgo part of their income in exchange for reductions in odour. The results may be an indication of a negative impact of sewage odour on people’s quality of life, although causality is not guaranteed.