Through the Autumn of 1997, Adelaide residents were holding their noses. A nasty smell set in for three months to become known as Adelaide’s ‘big pong’.
It emerged the pong had been caused by a major breakdown at a major Adelaide sewage plant. The treatment lagoons were overflowing and the systems in place for breaking down the city’s raw sewage weren’t working.
Adelaide residents suffered nausea and respiratory problems. Businesses suffered as people stayed home.
