07.06.09
Monday’s Water News: D.C. Sewage Plant in Need of Costly Upgrades
Plans for fixing Washington, D.C.’s Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant carries a hefty price tag. Nitrogen upgrades have to be fixed by 2015 under the new EPA permit, and the combined sewer overflow problem is on schedule to be fixed by 2025.
For the nitrogen work, the states of Maryland and Virginia will kick in money, as a large amount of the Blue Plains sewage comes from their residents, but the bigger bill–the $2.2 billion for the sewer overflows–has to be paid for solely by D.C. residents.
Headlines
Sewer workers are still trying to identify and temporarily fix a leak in Provincetown, Massachusetts’ wastewater collection system, following a July 4th weekend with nymerous overflow calls.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management is calling the Michigan City Sanitary District’s sewer overflow reporting unsatisfactory after it was discovered there are no records of a number of overflows for a period of three years prior to a spill in May.
In Austin, Texas, water officials are urging swimmers to stay away from Bull Creek after thousands of gallons of sewage spilled into a tributary of the creek Saturday.
Stimulus Spotlight
Despite the slow pace of the stimulus spending in Arizona, in Tempe, new work on a stimulus-funded water-treatment system is expected to soon support 260 jobs.
Sewer Rate News
Norwood, Massachusetts
Sterling Heights, Michigan
06.19.09
Friday’s Water News: Reduction in Sewer Overflows to Help Great Miami River
The Great Miami River’s water quality should get a significant improvement by 2014, when the city of Hamilton, Ohio is required by the state EPA to eliminate sanitary sewer overflows.
Headlines
A $5.7 million project was delayed by a vote from the Englewood Water District of Florida after listening to intense opposition for one hour. The project was set to add roughly 500 new customers to its sewer network.
A water main break has closed a street in Wasilla, Alasaka for up to two weeks. A four foot geyser of water was created by a four foot crack running laterally down a ten inch steal pipe.
Stimulus Spotlight
In the city of Casa Grande, Arizona, the city council approved up to $2.8 million out of the $4 million in projects would be paid through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Sewer Rate News
Highland Park, Michigan
Brownsburg, Indiana
06.16.09
Tuesday’s Water News: Dover (N.J.) Residents Without Water After Main Break
A water main break in Dover, New Jersey left about 500 residents in three towns with low pressure or no pressure today. The town administrator speculates it was wear that caused the eight-inch main to crack.
Headlines
In Fort Wayne (IN), a water main break caused a portion of a street to close causing city utility crews to work to repair the break.
Holbrook, Arizona has been given 30 daysto file approximately two years worth of missing reports related to wastewater treatment and disposal. The city was either late or failed to submit reports describing the quality of treated wastewater, mainly used for irrigation.
The Department of Health & Environmental Control in Columbia, South Carolina is investigating another case of sewage overflow in the city. Some of the overflow may have ended up in the Columbia Canal and the Congaree River which still hold warning signs for elevated bacteria levels found earlier this year.
Stimulus Spotlight
The federal government on Monday awarded $185 million in stimulus money to the state of Massachusetts for projects aimed toward improving drinking water and the treatment of wastewater. The money will create new opportunities and jobs but a figure cannot be given as to how many will be created.
Sewer Rate News
Melrose, Massachusetts
Tampa Bay, Florida
Marietta, Ohio
Morgantown, West Virginia
06.08.09
Monday’s Water News: Water Main Break Disrupts Service to Half of City in Vermont
Public works crews in Barre, Vermont continue emergency repairs on a water main break that has left thousands without water. A dispatcher in the city’s emergency services center estimated more than half the city was without water.
Headlines
People in Georgetown, Minnesota were without water most of Monday after a water main break forced the town to shut off its water.
Concerns over raw sewage in the water closed the beach at Coney Island and Manhattan Beach in Brooklyn on Saturday.
Stimulus Spotlight
Several Illinois communities will receive over $10 million in total for water projects funded from the economic stimulus package.
In South Dakota, the Fall River Water Users District has received $612,000 in federal stimulus money toward completing its pipeline to the Buffalo Gap area that will provide water to over 70 customers in the water district.
Sewer Rate News
Elkton, Virginia
Orange County, North Carolina
Prescott Valley, Arizona
06.03.09
Wednesday’s Water News: Main Break Shoots Water Sky High in Colorado Springs
A water main break this morning in Colorado Springs, Colorado shot water about 100 feet high just before 3:30 a.m. this morning. The force of the water tore a large hole in the street, and scattered rock and gravel in the area.
Headlines
A water main break in Towson, Maryland which flooded much of the area and is still a traffic nuisance. The water caused the road of a major street to buckle and caused Baltimore County Police to close part of the southbound lanes in the area of the break.
Part of a Hilton Head, South Carolina waterway has been closed to swimmers after a blocked sewer line sent nearly 200,000 gallons of sewage gushing out of a manhole and into Battery Creek.
Stimulus Spotlight
Maryland has been awarded nearly $122 million Tuesday from the EPA to fund drinking water projects and improve water quality as part of the federal government’s latest round of stimulus spending.
Today the EPA announced it will give the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority $54.8 million in stimulus funds to help local governments finance improvements to water infrastructure.
Sewer Rate News
Johnson County, Kansas
Nantucket, Massachusetts
Prescott Valley, Arizona
Silverton, Oregon
06.02.09
Tuesday’s Water News: Hartford to Start Massive Sewer Project
The largest public works project in Hartford, Connecticut history has started which will redo part of the city’s century-old sewer system. The first leg of the 15-year, $2 billion project will separate sewage from storm water in metro Hartford and reduce the frequency of sewer overflows from once a week to once a year.
Headlines
In Florida, St. Augustine city officials on Monday located a 19-inch-long, 6-inch-wide gash in a submerged 1960s-era pipe that caused hundreds of gallons of raw sewage to bubble up into Oyster Creek over the weekend.
The town of Cape Elizabeth, Maine has reached an agreement to fix sewer overflows at one of its pump stations which could cost the town hundreds of thousands of dollars.
A water main break has left an estimated 300 customers without water and restricted traffic in the east part of Mesa, Arizona.
Stimulus Spotlight
Vermont’s congressional delegation has announced $39 million in federal economic stimulus funds for drinking water and wastewater projects throughout the state.
Sewer Rate News
Bad Axe, Michigan
Crystal Lake, Illinois
Sioux City, Iowa
Waterloo, Iowa
05.12.09
Tuesday Headlines: Next BIG Sewer Project Scheduled in Portland, Ore.
Work is scheduled to begin next month on a massive sewer project in the Northwest Portland, Oregon industrial area as part of the city’s Big Pipe program.
Headlines
An eight-inch water-main break in Phoenix Tuesday afternoon has closed streets and left multiple homes with little or no water.
Service is expected to be restored Tuesday after a water main break in El Cajon, California. The burst 12-inch main spewed water causing the road and sidewalk to buckle.
Wisconsin state officials say municipal water construction projects will get a $143 million boost from federal stimulus funding. The application deadline is June 30, and priority is to go to projects ready to proceed to construction in 12 months or sooner.
Holly Springs, North Carolina will receive $81,600 in federal stimulus money for a solar-powered mixer to maintain water quality in one of the Town’s elevated storage tanks.
Sewer Rate News
Fruitland, Maryland
Hampshire, Illinois
Wheeling, West Virginia
05.04.09
Monday Headlines: Water Main Break Floods Sacramento Elementary School
A water main break at an elementary school in Sacramento, California flooded the campus, parking lot, and streets Monday morning. Staff members were bringing in sandbags to protect the other classrooms in the flooded areas.
Headlines
The recent heavy rains in Owosso, Michigan have caused sewage overflows of apprximately 500,000 gallons as a result of excessive storm water runoff.
About 120,000 gallons of sewage spilled this morning in Austin, Texas after a break in a 12-inch wastewater line.
A combined sewer overflow that started April 25 in Grand Rapids, Michigan continues to affect the Grand River in Ottawa County, and the heavy rains have washed a considerable amount of sediment and contamination into the river.
Stimulus Spotlight
Two communities in Pinal County, Arizona will receive about $6.3 million in stimulus funds to complete water-related projects. Most of the funds will be distributed by the state Water Infrastructure Finance Authority, which provides low-interest loans and grants. Projects in Pinal County will create or sustain 39 jobs, according to project estimates.
Sewer Rate News
Grand Island, Nebraska
Washington County, Maryland
Wheeling, West Virginia
04.22.09
Wednesday Headlines: Water Main Break Floods Children’s Medical Center
Children’s Medical Center of Dallas was forced to turn away patients Wednesday morning as it dealt with water problems from a water main break that flooded the ground floor of the building.
Headlines
Five communities in Northwest Indiana will see more than $3.4 million in grant money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to improve their wastewater and drinking water systems.
A partial blockage in a sewer line in Duluth, Minnesota caused a sanitary sewer overflow of 4,500 gallons on Tuesday. Residents should avoid contact with any sewer overflow due to the potential for exposure to disease-causing organisms.
An intersection in Tuscon, Arizona was closed after one of the cities four water lines broke causing a very large water outage.
The Utility Service Board in the town of Chesterton, Indiana has agreed to put a $4 million bond issue on the ballot to finance an ambitious package of wastewater infrastructure projects.
Sewer Rate News
Lake Oswego, Oregon
Memphis, Tennessee
Tulsa, Oklahoma
04.21.09
Tuesday Headlines: Rhode Island Town May Suspend Sewer Expansion
The Town Administrator of North Smithfield, Rhode Island has asked the Town Council to suspend a controversial town sewer expansion project for up to 60 days in response to criticism over the project’s cost. Some homeowners have voiced concerns about the long-term cost of the project, which is being financed by a $21-million sewer bond approved by voters in 2007.
Headlines
New Hampshire Governor John Lynch has announced that a total of 108 drinking water and wastewater projects will be partially funded by money from the economic stimulus.
The city of Lorain, Ohio will spend $3 million on the final phase of an Ohio EPA-mandated project to deal with the delivery and storage of sewage.
Works crews have finished cleaning up a 14,000- gallon sewage spill in Winterville, North Carolina after a small split in a sewer pipe sent raw sewage onto a pathway and into an adjacent canal.
The Bureau of Reclamation will spend $1 billion in federal stimulus money on water-infrastructure projects, including about $88 million in the state of Arizona.
Sewer Rate News
Jacksonville, Florida
Manteno, Illinois
Pontiac, Illinois
Star City, West Virginia
