Residents of Paradise Island in Largo hopeful city will work to alleviate foul smells

LARGO, Fla. - Something stinks at the Paradise Island Mobile Home Park in Largo.

"It's strong egg odor, rotten eggs.  Very bad rotten eggs," said park manager Nancy Perry.

Perry says the smell has been around for several years.  A large portion of the more than 800 homes within the park are affected by the reoccurring odor.  

A study commissioned by the City of Largo this past summer points to city owned sewer lines that build up with sewage.

"Because the sewage is not moving, it's sitting here and it ferments.  When it ferments, the smell, the gasses all come back this direction," explained Perry.

For some residents at Paradise Island, they say that the on-going stench is affecting their quality of life.

"It smells like your toilet bowl if you haven't flushed it," said Paradise Island resident Maryann Mutti.

One of Mutti's favorite things about her home is her screened in porch.

"I have a beautiful sun porch here and I can't ever sit out in here because it smells so bad.  I'd like to have coffee out here in the morning, but the smell's so bad I can't," said Mutti.

Anne and Rich Carpenter say the foul odor is just awful to be around.

"It's a bad odor.  We've had friends come over to the house and say, 'Eww, what's that smell'," explained Carpenter.

Paradise Island wants Largo to reimburse them for the fifteen thousand thousand dollars they paid to repair a corroded and crumbling manhole they claim was the result of buildup of the hydrogen sulfide gas caused by the faulty sewer lines.

The City of Largo said they mailed a response letter to the the park regarding the claim, but wouldn't reveal its contents.