06.23.09
Tuesday’s Water News: Senate Appropriations Subcommitte Approves Infrastructure Funding
The Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee unanimously approved legislation this morning that would cut environmental agencies’ spending by $200 million from what the House appropriations approved. The measure includes $3.6 for water and waster infrastructure.
Headlines
Beaches that have been closed in Greenwich, Connecticut due to heavy rainfall and sewage overflows have now been reopened. Byram Beach still remains closed to swimmers, however, because the rainfall in the shallow cove caused more concern.
A plugged valve caused an estimated 10,000 gallons of sewage to spill into a creek in Grass Valley, California. Valley officials are investigating why an alarm system didn’t sound when it happened. Signs have been posted warning people of the bacteria within the creek and contact with the water should be avoided.
Stimulus Spotlight
The Utah Water Quality Board meets Wednesday to consider requests involving the Ogdan River Restoration Project and 12 other similar projects around the state. The Ogdan River could be restored to a natural wider river channel that could accommodate higher flows, and reduce urban encroachment for $7.25 million. Ogden officials are hoping up to $4 million will come from federal stimulus money.
Sewer Rate News
Detroit, Michigan
Monroe, Pennsylvania
Spokane County, Washington
06.12.09
Friday’s Water News: Sausalito/Marin City Fined for February Sewage Spills
The Sausalito-Marin City Sanitary District (Calif.) faces $332,000 in fines for three spills of more than 775,000 gallons of sewage that occurred in February when partially treated wastewater gushed into Richardson Bay after an underwater pipe at one of the district’s wastewater treatment plants burst.
Headlines
An equipment failure at a Barnstable, Massachusetts pumping station has caused several beaches around Lewis Bay to be closed until further notice.
Scott Township, Pennsylvania has secured a $2.5 million grant from the USDA–in addition the $15 million loan the agency had already allocated–for its long-awaited sewer project.
Stimulus Spotlight
On Long Island, the economic stimulus bill will pay $13.2 million to bring sewer service to 63 Locust Valley homes with failing septic systems, and an additional $10.4 million to build a sewer plant for a Brookhaven industrial park sited in a special groundwater protection area.
Ironton, Ohio’s persistence has netted the city federal stimulus money for its aging sewer system. Following an April 23 setback that shut out Ironton from receiving a portion of $278 million the Ohio EPA allocated for water and sewer rehabilitation, the state agency reconsidered this week and earmarked $5 million towards the city’s sanitary and overflow sewer separation facilities.
Sewer Rate News
Middlebury, Connecticut
Springfield, Massachusetts
Wellsley, Massachusetts
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
05.27.09
Wednesday’s Water News: Norwich, Conn. Raising Rates to Finance Repairs
Norwich, Connecticut sewer users will receive a 40 percent hike in their sewer bills effective July 1 as the city embarks on a massive modernization effort on its wastewater treatment plant and other aging facilities.
Headlines
Friday is the earliest a boil order can be lifted for the city of Brazil, Indiana after a break in an 18-inch water line.
The village of Plover, Wisconsin is planning a $9.2 million upgrade to its wastewater treatment plant. The work is needed to help the plant handle a steady increase in users.
Stimulus Spotlight
The state of Florida is setting aside about $13 million in federal stimulus loans for building an estimated $15.5 million in drinking water and sewer projects in Vero Beach, Florida starting this fall.
In West Virginia, Huntington City Council must adopt a 23 percent sewer rate increase by early June or risk losing an opportunity for federal stimulus dollars. The city’s current rate does not meet the application requirements for federal stimulus funding that the state received for sewer projects earlier this year.
Sewer Rate News
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Hendersonville, North Carolina
Morgantown, West Virginia
04.27.09
Monday Headlines: East Boston Water Main Break Detours Traffic
A break in a 12-inch water main in East Boston near the entrance to the Sumner Tunnel forced a detour, created a sinkhole, left parts of nearby streets under 5 inches of water and forced the evacuation of two apartment buildings.
Headlines
In Florida, a water main break on Central Florida Parkway in Orange County diverted traffic to a local hospital. Firefighters say they responded to a report of a large water main break, which was causing flooding on the main road.
A $43 million project in North Palm Beach County, Florida is underway to meet stricter standards for drinking water. Upon completion, 80,000 customers will no longer have a yellow tint in their drinking water caused by the current lime-softening plant.
Water officials have nearly doubled the chlorine levels at a treatment plant in Bloomfield, Connecticut and plan marathon testing in response to last week’s outbreak of microorganisms in metro Hartford’s public water supply.
Stimulus Spotlight
It’s a new segment on Water News Update called “Stimulus Spotlight.” Today, three cities in North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad are among the first in the state to receive federal stimulus funding for wastewater and stormwater projects. Each project will receive a loan for the project, half of which will go toward principal forgiveness (making it a direct subsidy) and the other as a zero percent interest loan.
Sewer Rate News
Minnetonka, Minnesota
Tivoli, New York
04.24.09
Friday Headlines: Ohio Announces Stimulus Funding for Projects
The Ohio EPA yesterday announced the 324 water and wastewater infrastructure projects that will be funded from $278 million in federal stimulus money. 3,300 applications were received by Ohio EPA from cities, counties and villages seeking funding to fix or replace water and wastewater infrastructure.
Headlines
A budget review committee in Nashua, New Hampshire has recomended borrowing $51.3 million for improvements to the city’s combined sewer system.
A Connecticut homeowner’s discovery on Monday of what turned out to be harmless copepods and rotifers in his water filter prompted an initial advisory to tens of thousands of customers in Hartford and nine area communities to boil their tap water before drinking it or using it for cooking.
Crews in Ottumwa, Iowa are conducting smoke tests on the sewer system to locate breaks and defects in sanitary sewer pipes.
A $486,000 sanitary sewer project in Torrington, Connecticut is still expected to be completed on time despite currently being slightly behind schedule.
Sewer Rate News
North Ridgeville, Ohio
O’Fallon, Missouri
03.25.09
Wednesday Headlines: Stimulus Funds Likely for Projects in Portsmouth, N.H.
Portsmouth, New Hampshire has received preliminary approval for $7.2 million in funding through the federal economic stimulus package for two infrastructure projects. The two projects expected to receive money are a continuation of a sewer separation project and replacement of a water treatment plant.
Headlines
Some Mayors in the state of Vermont are unhappy over which drinking water and wastewater projects are being funded with funds from the economic stimulus bill.
Alabama Governor Bob Riley has formally asked the White House to guarantee Jefferson County’s bonds as part of a debt-restructuring plan to solve the $3.9 billion sewer debt crisis.
According to the local utilities department in Charlotte, North Carolina, about 182,000 of partially-treated sewage spilled into a local creek on Saturday.
Classes at Cheyney Univerity in Pennsylvania were cancelled today and the campus was closed after a water main break today. The break prevented anyone on campus from drinking water from the tap or using it for bathing.
Sewer Rate News
Cape Charles, Virginia
Fairhope, Alabama
Huntington, West Virginia
Norwich, Connecticut
03.11.09
Wednesday Headlines: Stimulus Helps Towns with Treatment Plant Upgrades
Connecticut state officials announced today that the towns of South Windsor and Stafford are among those in the state that will receive federal and state money for upgrades to their sewer treatment plants.
Headlines
Placer County, California is waiting on a final recommendation to build a regional wastewater pipeline or upgrade a sewer treatment plant until after it has a better idea that it will gain a share of federal economic stimulus funds for the more expensive pipeline project.
In Laredo, Texas, an intersection remains closed after a break in a 20-inch water main break flooded a street and caused major problems for thousands of residents all around the city.
A water main break in Quincy, Massachusetts Tuesday morning left a nursing home and three houses without for more than six hours yesterday.
A sewer district in Chillicothe, Ohio which has received a $250,000 grant through the Appalachian Regional Commission to help offset the cost of sanitary sewer installation is ready to take the project to bid. The grant will help offset the approximately $1 million cost of the project.
Sewer Rate News
Alamosa, Colorado
Central, South Carolina
Detroit, Michigan
02.13.09
Friday Headlines: Congress Passes Stimulus, Awaits President’s Signature
Today, the House passed the economic stimulus conference report that contains billions of dollars in investment for water and wastewater infrastructure by a vote of 264-183. The Senate is expected to pass the conference report late this evening. Once passed, President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law.
Headlines
In Burlington, Vermont, combined sewer overflows are believed to be the cause of a variety of man-made chemicals that have been found in the streams and waterways that discharge into Lake Champlain.
WTVF-TV in Nashville reports on the decay of the city’s sewer system. Mayor Karl Dean has proposed a sewer rate increase to pay for infrastructure upgrades needed to comply with federal mandates.
People in Ogden, Utah have quite a mess to clean up after an 18-inch water main broke last night as the water turned to ice which coated the trees and buildings. At one point water shot as high as 50 feet into the air.
A water main break in Bay Park, California has caused the closure of a school for a fifth time. The frequent water main breaks are frustrating school officials which last closed school in December because the same water main broke.
Sewer Rate News
Amherst, Massachusetts
Southington, Connecticut
01.21.09
Wednesday Headlines: Water Main Break Floods Shopping Mall
A broken water main is to blame for flooding the Norwichtown Mall in Norwich, Connecticut on Monday. The entire mall was filled with about six to eight inches of water before the utility company finally turned the water off. The mall remains temporarily closed.
Headlines
Officials in Alexandria, Indiana are considering two options for controlling its combined sewer overflow. Both options would cost approximately $11 million to execute, all Indiana communities are required to develop long-term control plans to limit the amount of overflow into the water by 2015.
Failing pumps at the Airport Wastewater Treatment Plant in Galveston, Texas caused sewage to overflow into ditches near Lake Madeline last week. Although crews were able to contain 300,000 gallons of the 800,000 gallon spill, most of the sewage ended up in the lake.
The city of Cape Coral, Florida wants $1.1 million to repair a major pipe to make sure a large sewer overflow event does not happen. City officials have seen evidence of corrosion on the 42-inch wide, 4,500-foot-long pipe leading into the sewage treatment plant, and if the pipe were to break, the city would have to shut off sewage service to thousands of customers until it was fixed.
A law office in Lansing, Michigan is drying out after a water main break Monday night left the lower level of the office flooded with two feet of water that soaked up offices and paperwork. Employees will be out of the building for about a week.
Sewer Rate News
Chapel Hill, Tennessee
El Dorado, Arkansas
Folkston, Georgia
Redlands, California
