10.27.08
Monday Headlines: In Boston, 16-Inch Water Main Break Closes Streets
Boston Public Works crews worked overnight on Saturday and all day on Sunday after a 16-inch water main ruptured. Roads were shut down around City Hall and the Brooke Courthouse, and a stretch of Cambridge Street was slightly buckled by the break. Some homes were flooded and other residents reported low water pressure.
Headlines
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is investigating the cause of the discharge of nearly 400,000 gallons of sewage sludge from a sewage treatment plant in Bordenton Township.
Water-main breaks during routine hydrant flushing are believed to be the cause of an E. coli contamination last week in Fulton, New York. Said Mayor Ron Woodward, “We have 63 miles of water line in the city and some of them are 100 years old.”
New Castle County, Delaware faces more than $145,000 in penalties and other expenses for violating a five-year-old order to improve overflowing sewage and stormwater collection systems.
In Miles Crossing, Oregon, work has begun on a long-awaited sewer system. The $8.1 million project is expected to take a year to complete and will initially serve about 400 homes and businesses.
Sewer Rate News
Ashland, Pennsylvania
Homer, Alaska
Lake County, California
Lincoln, Illinois
10.16.08
Thursday Headlines: Funding Needed for Washington, DC Sewage Plan
This Washington Post story is a couple of weeks old but is emblematic of the problem throughout the country. Water and sewer bills in the Nation’s capital will increase dramatically if the federal government does not bear the burden of a $2.2 billion sewage management plan mandated to reduce pollution of the region’s waterways. The project is required to meet the city’s obligations under the Clean Water Act.
Headlines
Scientific American takes a look at Milwaukee’s sewer system. Since 1994, a 26-mile deep water tunnel has been keeping Milwaukee’s sewage from spilling into Lake Michigan. The deep water tunnel is just one part of a $3-billion water pollution initiative that has also upgraded 400 miles of sewer infrastructure in Milwaukee and surrounding communities.
Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle has released $3.3 million for two state revolving funds, including $1,655,000 for the Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund and $1,671,000 for the Drinking Water Treatment Revolving Loan Fund.
A projected 100 percent to 125 percent increase in fees for sanitary sewer service and stormwater management caused concern among residents attending the city of Neenah, Wisconsin’s sixth annual town meeting.
Raw sewage is no longer flowing into the Shenango River from a Mercer County, Pennsylvania pump station. For several days, a broken line was dumping as much as 500,000 gallons of untreated waste into the river.
Sewer Rate News
Homer, Alaska
Muscle Shoals, Alabama
09.26.08
Friday Headlines: Despite Improvements Port Huron Struggles with CSOs
Despite making significant improvements and spending $135 million since 1988 on separating its combined sewer system, Port Huron, Michigan still ranks in the top five in the state for volume of combined sewer overflows. Last year, Port Huron accounted for 2.3% of the 13.575 billion gallons of untreated storm water and sewage released in the state of Michigan.
Headlines
In Texas, Fort Hood officials have confirmed the cleanup of about 168,000 gallons of spilled sewage, which they believe did not contaminate bodies of water. Public works inspectors have determined a fracture in the main distribution pipe allowed the sewage to escape from the facility.
Neighborhoods in Houston, Texas are experiencing problems with sewage spills as the city’s Public Works Department tries to get all lift stations operating again. Every sewage lift pump was affected by Hurricane Ike in some way and even municipal utility districts suffered issues with the power outages at lift pump stations that control wastewater.
Long Beach, California made a slight improvement from last year but still had the worst water quality in the state “by far” because the Los Angeles River pours into the city’s waters, according to a new report released by Heal the Bay.
Lawyers for Alabama’s Jefferson County and bond insurers were set to battle on Friday over an emergency request to give control of the county’s heavily indebted sewer system to a court receiver. Jefferson County is negotiating with Wall Street creditors against a Tuesday deadline on restructuring $3.2 billion of troubled sewer-system debt.
Sewer Rate News
Anchorage, Alaska
Glendale, Arizona
04.07.08
Monday Headlines: PA Gov. to Evaluate Water System Needs
Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell is forming a task force to evaluate water system needs and make recommendations in time for the 2009-10 state budget debate. The effort is part of Rendell’s Rebuild Pennsylvania agenda.
Headlines
Another Pennsylvania Story. Two areas of Reading Township are being forced into having public sewer systems installed at a cost of nearly $2.5 million
A water main break in Detroit has caused major problems since Sunday evening – for commuters and for businesses
In Alaska, the Denali National Park and Preserve may have to spend millions to overhaul a wastewater treatment system that violates the state’s environmental standards
Two faulty wastewater plants slow development in eastern Jefferson County, Kentucky
