Apex council awaits update as officials investigate New Hill odor complaints

Complaints about unpleasant smells in New Hill are expected to reach the Apex Town Council at its next meeting, with town manager Randy Vosburg preparing to provide a formal update. The council is scheduled to meet Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 6 p.m., as officials in Apex and Cary work to determine the cause.

Apex Mayor Jacques Gilbert brought attention to the issue on Facebook, inviting followers who had noticed the odor and wanted it addressed to respond with a poop emoji. Dozens did so. Gilbert told WRAL that residents had compared the smell to a hog farm or a dirty diaper, while others described it as unbearable.

Gilbert suspects the Western Wake Regional Reclamation Facility in Cary could be responsible. He said residents had pointed to the facility when he received a complaint in March 2025. Vosburg has met with Cary town manager Russ Overton to raise the concerns, and the two are working to investigate the issue.

WRAL previously reported on odor complaints in Apex and Holly Springs that were linked to the South Wake Landfill. Asked about that possibility, Gilbert could not rule out the landfill, although he said it was not the source of the smell complaints. The cause of the New Hill odor concerns remains undetermined.

A Cary spokesperson provided WRAL with information that Utilities Director Jamie Revels shared with staff in both towns after the issue came to Cary's attention on Oct. 20. According to that account, the reclamation facility was not receiving odor complaints or calls. Plant employees also routinely drive through nearby communities to check conditions and had not detected odor issues during those checks.

Cary officials cited seasonal weather as a possible factor in how odors linger. Differences between daytime warmth and nighttime cooling can create thermal inversions that restrict air mixing, keeping even low concentrations of odors near the ground. Officials said those conditions are generally experienced from later in the evening until daytime heating mixes the air, and usually ease as more typical fall weather arrives. They also noted paving and other construction along Old US1, while emphasizing that the work was context rather than an identified cause.

At the facility, odor-control systems serving the dryer have been reloaded and recharged. Cary said monitoring indicated those systems were working well. An additional biofilter recovered from a pump station that is no longer operating has also been installed, adding another layer of treatment and saving the partnership hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment purchases.

Cary is rebuilding part of the north headworks biofilter but said backup odor-control systems were functioning well and checks had found no odor issues. Treatment there includes both a biofilter and supplemental carbon polishing. The town said it would continue monitoring the facility and surrounding neighborhoods, maintain odor controls, make improvements when warranted and respond promptly to substantiated concerns.