Sallins residents have criticised an admission by Kildare County Council that it will be mid-2007 before facilities are in place to treat a sewage problem.
At present when it rains water backs up from Osberstown pumping station. This results in raw sewage filling an open ditch about 20 metres from houses in the Castlesize estate, and flowing into the river Liffey.
Speaking to The Irish Times, Charlie Talbot, head of corporate affairs for Kildare, described the problem as being "only intermittent", resulting in "occasional spillages into the Liffey".
He said the problem was expected to be resolved "within 18 months".
Referring to a 2002 report, he noted that "the Environmental Protection Agency had given that area a clean bill of health".
Plans for an upgrade of sewage-treatment facilities have been in the pipeline since 2000, when a proposal was put to the Department of Environment by the council under the National Water Services Investment Programme.
However, according to local resident Henrietta Cameron, who is a microbiologist, there have been smells in the area "for at least three years". However, it has gradually got worse, and last summer "apart from faeces and sanitary towels, there was a species of long, black thin flies that we had never seen before".
Last year there was a separate controversy when anglers from Newbridge and Caragh said untreated sewage discharged by the Osberstown plant could kill fish in the Liffey. This claim was disputed by the council.
When the matter was raised at a recent meeting of Kildare County Council, Labour councillor Paddy McNamara was told by the council's director of services John Lahart that the capacity of the sewerage service in the area was stretched due to unprecedented growth. However, it was hoped "that early next year it [a sewerage system upgrade programme] will go to tender and start early in 2007".
Mr McNamara was told that in the interim the council would continue to issue planning permissions in the catchment area. He said this would make the area "smell like Calcutta", and "smacks of a 'build first, plan later' approach by the council".
In November, the council received a letter from the Health Service Executive (HSE) which said there was "considerable evidence of ongoing sewage pollution from an overflowing foul sewer", and that the "situation has public health implications".
The HSE also requested that the council "inform this office of appropriate measures for satisfactory resolution".