Rishon LeZion Mayor Announces Cleanup After Suspected Odor Source Found in Sewer

Rishon LeZion Mayor Raz Kinstlich said early on November 3 that field teams had apparently located the source of odors experienced in the city over the preceding days. He announced special flushing work after fuel and oil waste was found in a sewer manhole at a remote site in western Rishon LeZion. “We have apparently found the source of the odor,” Kinstlich said. He described returning from hours of field inspections involving representatives of Home Front Command, the Environmental Protection Ministry, the municipality and the Maniv water corporation. His account identified waste dumped into the sewer as the suspected source, while retaining uncertainty about that finding. According to the mayor, Home Front Command and ministry representatives took samples at the site and were confident that it explained the odors. His announcement did not provide laboratory results. The account described a joint inspection involving municipal, water-service and national environmental personnel, followed by a planned response at the suspected source. Kinstlich said the special flushing would be carried out jointly with the Environmental Protection Ministry in the coming days. An investigation would also seek to establish who dumped the material. He thanked Home Front Command commander Shai Klapper and his team for agreeing the previous day to assist with intensified field inspections.