There is a lake filled with poop in Afghanistan鈥攁nd it is going to stay that way for the near future. At , the wastewater treatment plant is designed to handle waste from 25,000 people鈥攂ut the airfield is currently home to around 30,000. The plant is also currently unable to process cooking oil and grease. So, the excess 鈥渨aste material,鈥 along with the oil and grease, ends up in a nearby cesspit. The smell gets whipped around the base by the desert wind and, yeah, ugh.
Plans were in place for the lake to be drained by the end of this year, but that won鈥檛 be happening. 鈥淎lthough the description of its smell can never be over-exaggerated,鈥 said Sergeant First Class Erick Studenicka, 鈥渞eports of malodorous Poo Pond’s demise were premature.鈥 Instead, they鈥檙e looking toward the middle of next year as a drainage deadline. 鈥淚f the number of residents on Kandahar airfield drops early next year and the mechanical grease separator is installed,鈥 Studenicka said, 鈥渋t’s likely the residents on Kandahar airfield in spring will witness the end of an era鈥攖he long-awaited closure of the poo pond around mid-2013.鈥
Via