Your nose does not deceive you. Parts of town do smell a bit like a cattle feedlot.

City Manager Mike Wildgen said an annual operation to remove “biosolids” from the city’s sewage treatment plant was creating more odor than normal – likely because of recent heat, humidity and wind.

The biosolids are a treated byproduct of the sewage treatment plant at 1400 E. Eighth St., and are typically provided to local farmers for fertilizer. This year, the fields are just south of the city. Wildgen said trucks hauling the biosolids were leaving the sewer plant on 11th Street and traveling south on Haskell Avenue.

Several residents of central and southern Lawrence have reported the smell. Wildgen said the odor from the fields should dissipate in a few days.

The biosolid removal should be completed by Wednesday, weather permitting.