Residents of a Mission neighborhood say sewage is backing up into their yards and causing a foul stench that won't go away.

Residents near Inspiration Road and Paseo Encantado say the problem has gotten so bad they can smell it before they even see a street sign.

"It's bad. I don't know if you drove in and you just get the Inspiration smell just by coming in," Mission resident Jalynn Garza said.

Garza moved to the area two years ago. Since then, the smell of sewage mixed with rotten eggs has been constant, she said.

"It’s like a very nasty diaper," Garza said. "My family members just when dropping me off they're like 'ohh we're getting close to your house. We smell the doodoo.'"

The odor comes from liquid along the roadway near a manhole. Garza said she believes it's a sewage leak. Her concern grows when it rains.

"Our whole entire backyard was full of doodoo water. It was good for the plants but everything died and it was all crispy," Garza said. “It smelled so bad we weren't allowed to go outside."

Mission City Manager Juan Pablo Terrazas said crews found rags and hygiene products stuck in the line and in the sewer system at the lift stations.

"That's the reason why the sewer was leaking out of the manholes," Terrazas said.

Since Feb. 11, 2026, the city received five complaints from people living near Inspiration Road. Terrazas said that part of town is not the only area experiencing this issue.

"We had another area on the northeast of Mission also. We found out that the line was clogged with wipes and other products," Terrazas said.

When crews started cleaning the lines, they noticed more issues.

“We have an 18-inch line, that's the capacity; but due to all these rags it becomes a 10-inch," Terrazas said. "That's when we send our vector trucks to hose and flush the line and clean and dispose of it at the wastewater treatment plant."

Terrazas said while the city will do their part and fix the current problem, people at home can prevent it from happening in the first place.

"We need their help and for them not to do it anymore, not to flush their hygiene products or wipes in the toilet," Terrazas said. "All we can do right now is educate the public through our social media platforms and indicate everybody not to do that."

The city posted a guide online showing what should and should not be flushed.

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