11.18.08
Tuesday Headlines: Kansas City Moves Forward on Sewer Overflow Plan
After months of delays, Kansas City’s largest publicly financed project, an effort to improve its sewer system, moves forward this week. Yesterday city officials announced the latest version of a $2.4 billion plan to reduce sewer overflows into local streams during heavy rains–improvements that are required by the federal government.
Headlines
It’s called the Big Pipe project, and when it is completed in 2011 it is expected to reduce Portland, Oregon’s sewer overflows to three or four a year instead of every time it rains. The 20-year project will cost $1.4 billion and has been financed with sewer rate increases in recent years. It is the biggest construction project in the city’s history.
A water main break in Kalamazoo, Michigan has closed two schools for the day.
The University of Maryland experienced its second water main break in as many days after a 16-inch main broke near a campus parking lot. Age is believed to be the biggest factor in causing the break.
Basements of about approximately a half-dozen homes in Bellevue, Washington were flooded when a water main broke Monday morning.
Sewer Rate News
Ontario, California
Sandy Township, Pennsylvania
Waterford, Connecticut
11.17.08
Monday Headlines: Water Main Break Leads to Boil Alert in Suburban DC
Although service has been restored following a water main break on Saturday in Largo, Maryland, residents remain under a boil water advisory. The break also affected traffic for fans traveling to the game last night between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins. The advisory involves homes in a 39-square-mile area in central Prince George’s County, as well as several schools and and government buildings.
Headlines
An above-ground pipe spewed at least 100,000 gallons of raw sewage Saturday in Vista, California. The sewage spilled near the on-ramp of state Route 78 on Saturday. The age of the pipe is believed to be the cause of the spill.
In Maui, Cove Park was closed on Thursday after a blockage at a wastewater pump station Thursday led to an overflow of about 1,200 gallons of untreated sewage from a manhole cover.
A water main break slowed traffic this morning on a state highway outside of Scranton, Pennsylvania in Dickson City.
Schools are closed in Beacon Falls, Connecticut today because of a water main break.
Crash investigators in Kansas City, Missouri said a water main break may have caused an accident on Interstate 35 Sunday morning. Police said water from the break froze over the highway and a car and truck slid into each other on the slippery surface.
In the ongoing situation with Jefferson County, Alabama and its sewer debt, a federal judge will hold a hearing Monday morning to determine whether bond insurers are entitled to have Jefferson County’s troubled sewer system placed under the control of a receiver who can manage the sewer system. The county is in danger of defaulting on it $3.2 billion sewer debt.
Sewer Rate News
Burlington, New Jersey
Williams, Oregon
10.06.08
Monday Headlines: 150,000 Gallon Sewer Overflow in Florence, S.C.
Work crews in Florence, South Carolina are cleaning the site of a 150,000-gallon sewer overflow that ran into Jeffries Creek. Crews removed the blockage that caused the overflow and then cleaned visible solids at the discharge site using lime to disinfect the affected area.
Headlines
In San Diego, more than 3 million gallons of water spilled from a pipeline that failed yesterdayin a remote section of Mission Trails Regional Park. Emergency repairs on the 72-inch concrete pipeline has already started. Constructed in 1977, the pipeline delivers untreated water to the city’s Alvarado and Otay water treatment plants and the Sweetwater Authority’s Perdue Treatment Plant.
On Friday, city officials in Portland, Oregon urged people to avoid going into the Willamette River after rains caused the city’s sewer system to overflow.
A water main break Saturday night in Troy, New York had crews working overtime to repair not only the water main, but the pavement which buckled. The Department of Transportation said the road reopened at 3:30 p.m. Monday with no delays.
State route 10 in Cheshire, Connecticut should be opened in both directions this afternoon after a broken water main is fixed and road patched up. A 12-inch water main underneath Route 10 broke Sunday evening, sending water gushing through and leaving a sinkhole in the road. Route 10 was shut down overnight but one lane opened in the morning.
Sewer Rate News
Antrim Township, Pennsylvania
Buhl, Idaho
Lowell, Massachusetts
Northwood, Ohio
10.02.08
Thursday Headlines: California Issues $1.7 Mil in Fines for Sewage Discharges
In California, San Mateo, Hillsborough and the county-run Crystal Springs sanitation districts must collectively pay more than $1.7 million in fines to a regional enforcement agency for discharging raw sewage into streets, creeks and San Francisco Bay in violation of the Clean Water Act. In addition to the fines, the staff of the Regional Water Board is asking board members to approve a collective “cease-and-desist order” that would impose long-term requirements on each sanitation district to do better monitoring of pipeline leaks and come up with lasting solutions.
Headlines
Scientists for the state of Rhode Island are working to find out what is causing the high amounts of fecal coliform bacteria turning up in the Kickemuit River. The cause of the bacteria is unknown, however, there is a correlation between river bacteria and nearby storm drain bacteria, leading scientists to think polluted storm drain runoff is the cause of the river contamination.
In Chicopee, Massachusetts, 45 people met Wednesday night with city officials and design engineers about a combined sewer overflow problem which has particularly plagued the Lorraine and Stedman streets area. The city has $180 million worth of combined sewer overflow work it needs to separate over a 20-year period.
A large water main break in Shelton, Connecticut Wednesday evening, left 75 businesses and condominiums along a busy street without water.
Sewer Rate News
Belleview, Florida
Rochester, Michigan
10.01.08
Wednesday Headlines: In Arkansas, Election to Decide Water Bond Program
Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe said he expects voters to approve a $300 million bond issue for water projects in November, provided they understand it will not raise their taxes. The measure would extend a $300 billion bond program approved by voters 10 years ago, and would renew bonding authority for the state’s grant and loan program for water, sewer and waste disposal projects.
Headlines
A water main break today in downtown Norwich, Connecticut has closed Courthouse Square to all vehicular traffic. It is believed that it will take anywhere from four to eight hours to complete repairs. Also, the basements of two businesses sustained water damaged and were pumped out.
Crews in Lawrence, Kansas worked yesterday to fix an 8-inch water main that broke Tuesday morning. Repairs to the waterline were completed yesterday with patching of the road stretching into today.
An 8-inch water main also broke yesterday in Bernards Township, New Jersey leaving 250 residents on 18 streets without water. Residents have been told to boil their tap water for five minutes before drinking it.
After years of talk, the City Council in West Liberty, Iowa has finally agreed to move forward on the expansion of its wastewater treatment facility.
Sewer Rate News
Delta, Missouri
Waurika, Oklahoma
09.22.08
Monday Headlines: Water Main Break Causes City to Almost Run Out of Water
Officials in Maple Plain, Minnesota were relieved last week after several hours of searching finally turned up a broken water line that had threatened to empty the city’s water tower. A ruptured 8-inch, dead-ended main situated behind an industrial park building was located and closed off from the rest of the water system with roughly a half-hour supply remaining at the city’s disposal.
Headlines
A $2.6 million project is underway in Hillsboro, Oregon to replace old sanitary sewer lines and add a separate storm water drainage system. The combination of the two will help keep stormwater out of the sewer lines during heavy rainfall.
Residents in a portion of Kirksville, Missouri were under a 48-hour boil order this weekend after a water main break on Friday.
The Butler Township Board of Supervisors has tentatively approved an upgrade of the storm water drainage system in Lavelle, Pennsylvania. A couple of months ago new water lines were put in and the township felt that it would also be a good time to update the storm water infrastructure.
State Route 10 in Cheshire, Connecticut should be opened in both directions this afternoon after a broken water main is fixed and the road patched up. A 12-inch water main underneath Route 10 broke Sunday night, sending water gushing and leaving a sinkhole in the road. Route 10 was shut down overnight but one lane was opened this morning.
Sewer Rate News
Eugene and Springfield, Oregon
Macedon, New York
Manteca, California
Sturtevant, Wisconsin
09.12.08
Friday Headlines: Despite Volunteer Efforts White River Still Polluted
Despite volunteer efforts this weekend to cleanup the White River, Indiana State environmental officials say water tests continue to indicate that raw sewage washes into the river during heavy rains, a problem Indianapolis is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to address.
Headlines
In New York , the Pleasantville Cottage School has been charged with two misdemeanors for allowing raw sewage to flow from its property into a village park and lake, An investigation revealed sewage was coming from a clogged line on the campus, flowing through the woods and across a paved path used by children and others to get to a nearby park.
A new report from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control faults Alpine Utilities for failing to maintain equipment, causing it to break down and allowing partly treated sewage to spill into the lower Saluda River in July.
Police have closed a section of State Route 5 in Wallingford, Connecticut because of a large water main break.
Workers with the South Carolina Department of Transportation have completed repairs to Huger Street in Downtown Columbia, after a sinkhole from a collapsed storm drain appeared in the northbound lanes a few weeks ago. The repair will be made in time for this Saturday’s game between the South Carolina Gamecocks and Georgia Bulldogs.
Sewer Rate News
Fernandina Beach, Florida
Laurie, Missouri
08.27.08
Wednesday Headlines: Marin County’s Sewer Woes Continue
In California, signs posted along the Larkspur shoreline warn people to stay out of the water after yet another sewage spill in Marin County. The spill resulted from a burst pipe at the dock through which sewage is pumped from the ferries to the sanitary district. There have been at least a half dozen sewage spills in the North Bay so far in 2008.
Headlines
The city of Lake Ozark, Missouri has pleaded guilty to illegally discharging raw sewage into the Lake of the Ozarks, one of the state’s biggest tourists draws. Mayor Johnnie Franzeskos signed the plea agreement in federal court late Monday, requiring the city to pay a $50,000 fine.
In Wheeling, West Virginia, the city has had its third water main break downtown in a month. Many of the lines in the city are over 100 years old.
Wisconsin State regulators want the city of Appleton’s water utility to make $3 million available to pay for potential fixes to the city’s drinking-water treatment plant. The request by the state Department of Natural Resources is on top of $11 million in work called for in a consultant’s report to address problems with producing drinking water in cold weather.
The Village of Dexter is facing fines of about $25,000 from the Michigan state Department of Environmental Quality for inadequacies in its wastewater treatment plant operation dating back to 2005.
Sewer Rate News
Ansonia, Connecticut
North Attleboro, Massachusetts
Paris, Texas
Williamsburg, Iowa
Ok, I’m taking a few days off. Check back again on Tuesday, September 2.
08.18.08
Monday Headlines: Gov, New Group Tackle New York’s Water Infrastructure
New York Governor David Patterson has announced the the formation of an environmental and government collaborative to help tackle a looming water infrastructure crisis facing New York State. The new initiative is focused on pressuring the federal government to help fix the water and sewer systems it helped build decades ago.
Headlines
The small community in Woodloch, Texas is facing the unenviable task of repairing its crumbling infrastructure without raising tax or water rates. Faced with cracking water mains, pipes made of asbestos concrete and a rusting storage tank, the town is in no position to lower rates, officials say.
A water main break in Boiling Springs, South Carolina shut down large portions of a road and flooded a nearby church last night.
In Lafayette, Indiana, Riehle Plaza will be closed for about two months beginning today as contractors prepare for construction of an underground combined sewer overflow system.
Sewer Rate News
Arlington, Texas
Lawrence, Kansas
Mill Valley, California
Vernon, Connecticut
08.05.08
Tuesday Headlines: 140,000 Gallons of Raw Sewage Spills Into Michigan Lake
The water in Lake Bella Vista is murky after an estimated 140,000 gallons of raw sewage spilled into the private lake. The spill in Cannon Township, Michigan was caused by a break in a pipe that carries sewage from northern Kent County to the Grand Rapids Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Headlines
More than 150,000 gallons of treated sewage flowed into Scottsdale, Arizona desert last week after a filter became clogged at a water treatment plant. The affected portion of the water plant treats about 20 million gallons of water a day.
In Los Angeles, Department of Water and Power crews worked well into the night to fix an 8-inch water main that broke next to an apartment building near downtown on Monday.
A water main break Monday morning in Conway, Pennsylvania has the borough under a boil notice.
Two water main breaks in Salt Lake City have left utility workers with a lot of work to do.
Sewer Rate News
Ansonia, Connecticut
Mira Loma, California
Pendleton, South Carolina
Saint Joseph, Missouri
