05.30.08
Friday Headlines: Alabama Cty. Extends Debt Payment
In Alabama, the Jefferson County Commission expects to vote today on a proposal for a two-month extension on a $47 million sewer debt payment due to eight banks.
Headlines
Some residents Newport Richey, Florida are without after a water main break.
The City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Environmental Services will be working on seven major sewer projects in June that may impact roadways and traffic on Oahu.
A group of homeowners in Carrollton, Illinois plagued by sewer back-ups into their homes, businesses and properties, are asking the city to find a long-term solution to the problem.
Sewer Rate News
Augusta County, Virginia
Garretson, South Dakota
West Hollywood, California
05.29.08
Thursday Headlines: Water Main Break Floods San Diego Suburb
Crews were expected to complete repairs Thursday afternoon to a ruptured water pipe that flooded parts of the La Jolla Shores neighborhood outside of San Diego. The San Diego Water Department spokesman said a ruptured 8-inch connector pipe caused the flooding.
Headlines
The Mayor of Olean, New York has asked the City Council to authorize borrowing $7.5 million to rebuild two troublesome sections of the city’s sewer system.
Near St. Louis, a $90 million construction project will mean fewer sewer backups in the Lemay sewer treatment area.
Carrolton, Ohio has been awarded a $500,000 grant and a $500,000 zero-interest loan by the Ohio Public Works Commission to be used to build a new wastewater treatment plant.
Emergency steps are being taken in Casper, Wyoming to protect the North Platte River, after a risk of equipment failure at the city’s wastewater treatment plant.
Sewer Rate News
Baltimore, Maryland
Marion, Illinois
Sturgis, South Dakota
05.28.08
Wednesday Headlines: PG County, MD Sees Increase in Sewer Overflows
In Prince George’s County, Maryland, residents are upset that the new National Harbor (pictured right) project has made an already stressed sewer system even worse. Here’s the paragraph that caught my attention.
On April 25, the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, the anchor of National Harbor, celebrated its grand opening. On May 9, the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) dumped 968,000 gallons of raw sewage into Broad Creek. On May 11 and 12, the WSSC dumped an additional 3.76 million gallons of untreated raw sewage into Broad Creek. This was the largest sewage dump into Broad Creek in years not resulting from a power outage, and it happened less than three weeks after National Harbor opened. The only dump of comparable magnitude was a 4.6 million-gallon event in February that resulted from a power outage.
Headlines
In Winona Lake, Minnesota, some residents were warned to boil their water before drinking it after an 8-inch water main broke.
A new book examines the history and politics of Los Angeles’ sewer system.
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has ordered Johnson Utilities to post warning signs near standing water in Queen Creek Wash where the company has spilled thousands of gallons of raw sewage.
A sewage spill in Newport Beach, California has caused a portion of Newport Bay to shut down to swimming and surfing. From 1999 to 2007, there were 277 sewage spills in Orange County, 62 percent from some sort of blockage.
Sewer Rate News
Carroll County, Maryland
Fredonia, New York
Kansas City, Kansas
Mooresville, North Carolina
05.27.08
Tuesday Headlines: Pittsburgh Cleans Up After Water Main Break
Sorry for the lack of posts last week. I was busy with last week with NUCA’s Washington Summit. But now it is back to normal and a week chock full of information.
Life is also getting back to normal in one Pittsburgh neighborhood after a water main break sent thousands of gallons of water gushing into the street and into some homes. Click on the link for streaming video from KDKA.
Headlines
In New York City, people were finally let back into their Greenwich Village homes Sunday morning after being forced out all night by a large water main break. workers say the water main that broke was more than 150 years old and that its age was the probable cause of the rupture. Click the link for video coverage from WCBS.
After collecting more than 500 bacteriological samples during 2007 testing for no less than 13 regulated substances, the final analysis yields a clean bill of health for the water supply in The Colony, Texas.
In Akron, Mayor Don Plusquellic is pushing ahead with his plan to lease the city’s sewer system to finance scholarships for Akron’s public high school graduates.
Sewer Rate News
College Park, Georgia
Hays, Kansas
Midwest City, Oklahoma
Prescott, Arizona
05.21.08
Tuesday Headlines: Milwaukee Sewer Distirct Settles Lawsuit
In Pittsburgh, officials say the cost of complying with a federal consent order to end most overflows of untreated sewage into Pittsburgh’s rivers, estimated at $1 billion nine years ago, will be significantly higher.
05.19.08
Monday Headlines: 180,000 Gallons of Sewage Leaks into River
I’m pretty busy this week so I have to modify the blog posts this week. What you will see is links to five or six stories each day. Feel free to chime in with comments.
The California Regional Water Quality Control Board has issued a Notice of Violation to the City of Oakdale for failing to report incidents where untreated sewage water was discharged into the Stanislaus River from a malfunctioning lift station.
In Chicago, a large sinkhole developed after a 24-inch main broke late Friday afternoon.
05.16.08
Friday Headlines: Water Main Break Disrupts Traffic in NOVA
The commute home for some Northern Virginia residents was inconvenienced last night after a 12-inch water main flooded a major commuter thoroughfare.
Headlines
Heavy rain in Frederick, Maryland causes a sewer overflow.
A bay in Hayden Lake, Washington was hit by a sewage spill on Thursday, and it’s not known when it will be safe to get back in the water.
Los Angeles plans to begin using heavily cleansed sewage to increase drinking water supplies, joining a growing number of cities considering similar measures.
Sewer Rate News
Berkeley Springs, West Virginia
East Liverpool, Ohio
Milton, Pennsylvania
05.15.08
Thursday Headlines: Sewer Line Collapses in Charlotte
A sewer line collapsed overnight on Thursday and has caused major traffic problems in part of Charlotte, North Carolina. According to the Charlotte Department of Transportation, a contractor was working overnight to install a new water main when a nearby sewer line collapsed.(picture courtesy of WSOC-TV)
Headlines
Citizens of Beachwood, New Jersey are concerned about high iron content in the water.
After a lot of work and $3 million later, Mill Hall, Pennsylvania has repaired its sewer system.
The Gallup, New Mexico wastewater plant is in shambles.
Sewer Rate News
Chicopee, Massachusetts
East Aurora, New York
Holbrook, Massachusetts
Niles, Ohio
05.14.08
Wednesday Headlines: Va. Gov. Announces Grant for Roanoke
Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine has announced the award of a grant Tuesday to connect 29 properties in Roanoke to an 8-inch sewer line. The Southern Rivers Watershed Enhancement Program will pay for $202,060 of the $229,060 project, with the remaining $27,000 to be paid by the city.
Headlines
A water main break in Chevy Chase, Maryland last week left residents without water for a day and surged a crater the size of a school bus through the road.
A water main break in Kimball Township, Michigan is leaving 600 people without water and causing two schools to close.
In Marin County, California, officials expect to get the results of water tests today or tomorrow after 64,000 gallons of partially treated sewage spilled in the bay off Tiburon. The spill occurred Monday night and Tuesday morning.
In an effort to find ways to pay for massive sewer improvements without rate increases, Fort Wayne, Indiana Mayor Tom Henry has announced the creation of a community task force.
Sewer Rate News
Charleston, West Virginia
Farmington, Maine
Hagerstown, Maryland
Lafayette, Tennessee
05.13.08
Tuesday Headlines: Ill. Sanitary District Reaching Capacity
Headlines
The city of Princeton, West Virginia considers major upgrades to its sewer system.
To the Jersey Shore, in North Wildwood, The city plans to use $6.1 million in grants and loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to replace its aging sewer pipes and repair city streets.
In Tampa, the city’s wastewater department has begun work on a broken sewer line. The broken clay pipe, was installed in the 1960s and discovered by crews doing inspections.
Sewer Rate News
Encintas, California
Seaside Park, New Jersey
South Sioux City, Nebraska
