12.03.08
Wednesday Headlines: Two Million Gallon Sewage Spill in Delaware
A two million gallon sewage spill in Delaware has closed the Mispillion River from Milford to the Delaware Bay. A major sewer line along state Route 1 north of Milford broke, causing the discharge. The State Water Resources Director county sewage system managers had no choice but to divert sewage into the river. Two food processing plants halted production to help curb the discharge.
Headlines
As part of a pilot program aimed at reducing sewer blockages and overflows and accidental spills, the Raleigh suburb of Cary, North Carolina is encouraging residents to save their cooking oils, fats and grease in sealable containers. According to the town, such refuse contributed to 16 sewer overflows in 2006 and six overflows in 2007.
A water main break this morning flooded an intersection in southeast Rochester, New York. City crews are working in the area today, and dug a large hole to work on the water main.
Two northbound lanes of 50th Street in Tampa, Florida are closed while the city’s Water Department repairs a broken 24-inch water main. Restoration of the road surface is expected to be completed by the end of the week.
A local fitness facility in Norton Shores, Michigan may reopen today after being closed due to a water main break.
Sewer Rate News
Carlsbad, California
Frisco, Texas
Marietta, Ohio
Muncie, Indiana
11.07.08
Friday Headlines: NYC Agrees to Bring Treatment Plants into Compliance
New York City has reached an agreement with the state of New York to bring its 14 wastewater treatment plants into compliance with environmental laws. The price tag to bring all the plants into compliance is expected to be in the billions. Steven W. Lawitts, the acting commissioner of the city’s Department of Environmental Protection commented on the situation stating:
The many components of this agreement highlight the challenges that cities around the country face in building costly and complex, but critically important, infrastructure
Headlines
Students and faculty at Carnegie Mellon University were inconvenienced after a 6-inch water main on campus broke Thursday afternoon.
An equipment failure at a Long Island sewage treatment plant caused approximately 51,000 gallons to spill into a bay where shellfish beds were recently reopened.
About 90 homes in Baltimore County, Maryland were without water yesterday after a break in a 10-inch water main.
A main pipeline near Palatka, Florida’s water plant broke Wednesday night, leaving the city without water for several hours and a boil-order through at least today. “An aging infrastructure can cause these types of mishaps,” said City Manager Woody Boynton.
Sewer Rate News
Bath, Maine
Phoenix, Arizona
11.05.08
Wednesday Headlines: Ballot Initiatives for Water Infrastructure Pass in 3 States
Measures were on the ballot in three states yesterday to increase investments in water and wastewater infrastructure.
In the Keystone state, Pennsylvanians voted overwhelmingly to adopt the only statewide measure on the ballot yesterday, allowing state leaders to borrow $400 million for water and sewer improvements. An estimated 2,200 drinking water systems and 1,060 wastewater systems in the state must spend an estimated $20 billion to meet federal and state clean water standards.
In the third referendum question on Maine’s ballot Tuesday, voters authorized a $3.4 million bond issue for drinking water programs and construction of wastewater treatment facilities.
And in Arkansas, voters approved a measure that will allow up to $300 million in bonds to be issued for water projects around the state.
10.21.08
Tuesday Headlines: Climate Change May Cause Heavier Rainfalls, More Overflows
A Washington Post story tackles the issue of climate change and how it may lead to significant increases in waterborne diseases around the world. The story suggests the nation’s water infrastructure may not be up to the challenge as heavier rainfalls may trigger sewage overflows, contaminating drinking water and endangering beachgoers.
The story also includes a national map (found here) illustrating the pervasiveness of waterborn diseases.
Headlines
In Brooklyn, New York, the stench of raw sewage in the Gowanus Canal may get worse before it gets any better. To repair the flushing tunnel the city must turn it off for two years as part of a $300-million cleanup. To compensate for the soon-to-be deactivated flushing tunnel, the city will attempt to reduce the amount of untreated waste that lingers in the canal when heavy rains overflow the aging sewers.
Ensuring the water keeps coming in and the sewage keeps flowing out is going to cost residents in the Buffalo suburb of Tonawanda $3 million over the next few years. Councilman Joe Emminger acknowledged the high cost, but said investing early will benefit the town, especially since there appears to be little to no relief coming from state or federal levels.
Sewer Rate News
Grand Haven, Michigan
Oldham County, Kentucky
Rolla, Missouri
Rome, Georgia
10.15.08
Wednesday Headlines: Sewer Overflow in Tampa Revised to 1.8 Million Gallons
An update on a story that appeared here last Wednesday about Tampa, Florida. Hillsborough County Water Resource officials have drastically revised the estimate on the amount of raw sewage that spilled from a broken pipeline last week. The initial estimate of 300,000 gallons of sewage poured into Sweetwater Creek has been revised to 1.8 million gallons.
Headlines
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is investigating a sizable overflow of sewage from a Nether Providence Township line into a Ridley Creek tributary last month. The discharge of the sewage into the waterway represents a violation of the state Clean Streams Law.
In Flordia, Miami-Dade County broke ground on water and sewer improvements to Palmetto Bay’s main commercial hub Friday, 10 years after business owners first started pushing for the changes. Palmetto Bay officials hope the $14 million project to provide water and sewer service to homes and businesses still on wells and septic tanks will attract more businesses to the southwestern corner of the village.
About $1.4 million in state mandated sewage projects have all but guaranteed higher sewer rates for residents in Meyersdale, Pennsylvania. Borough officials say sewer rate hikes are certain, but exact increases will not be calculated until they know how the projects will be financed.
Sewer Rate News
Germantown, Wisconsin
Muskegon, Michigan
Rubidoux, California
10.13.08
Monday Headlines: Lagoon in Long Beach Closed After Sewage Spill
The Colorado Lagoon in Long Beach, California remained closed after a sewage overflow that reached the lagoon. Approximately 1,200 gallons of raw sewage flowed through the storm system and into the lagoon. According to an annual report released in September, Long Beach has the worst water quality in the state.
Headlines
Repairs were made to a sewer line from the Hampton Inn in Coralville, Iowa after a plugged line caused an overflow, according to an Iowa Department of Natural Resources statement.
Some Tampa, Florida residents have been advised to avoid Sweetwater Creek and the area where it flows into Tampa Bay for the next few days, after a broken sewer line dumped about 300,000 gallons into the creek.
City officials in Salem, Oregon say about 100 gallons of raw sewage spilled into the Little Pudding Basin this weekend. The overflow was caused by a blocked sewer line.
A portion of Belmont Road in Bettendorf, Iowa was closed Friday afternoon because of a ruptured water main. An estimated 50 homes had water service disrupted because of the break.
Sewer Rate News
Ashland, Pennsylvania
Lake Jackson, Texas
Lowell, Massachusetts
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
09.29.08
Monday Headlines: Vermont Town Looks to Improve Aging Water System
In November, residents in Ludlow, Vermont will be asked to approve a $3.5 million bond to improve the town’s aging water system that would raise their annual water bills by 57 percent. The bond would be financed through a 40-year loan from USDA Rural Development at 2.7 percent with an annual payment $142,700.
Headlines
City crews are still working on a water main break that dried up service to homes and businesses yesterday in Mountain View, California. The age of the pipe–which is 75 years old– is believed to be the cause of the break. (picture courtesy of KFMB)
Officials in Cincinnati had a watery mess to clean up Sunday night. Public works crews had to turn the water off in the area and shut down a major thoroughfare for several hours.
An interesection in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania is expected to remain closed until this afternoon while crews make repairs to a water line break that was discovered early today.
A water main break in El Paso, Texas Friday night flooded a gas station and convenience store. The water continued to stream onto the property for more than two hours before water crews showed up to turn it off.
Sewer Rate News
Kirkwood, New York
Tarpon Springs, Florida
09.24.08
Wednesday Headlines: $843 Mil. Needed to Repair Louisville’s Sewer System
The Metropolitan Sewer District of Louisville, Kentucky says its massive court-imposed plan to rehabilitate the sewer system will cost about 5 percent more than previously estimated. The new estimate of $843 million will pay for repairs to a system that annually spills about 4 billion gallons of sewage into local waterways, such as the Ohio River.
Headlines
In Chicago, a car was damaged after partially falling into a sinkhole created by a water main break. The car, which was parked, fell in after it the ground around it caved. “When the main broke, the water undermined the pavement and soil and created a hole,” said a City Department of Water Management spokesperson.
A quarter of a million people in the Houston region are still without running water nearly two weeks after Hurricane Ike caused extensive damage, Restoring water service may prove complicated. The problem has a myriad causes including severe infrastructure damage in coastal areas.
Sludge and sewage runoff from Bismarck, Missouri’s current treatment plant into a receiving stream has forced the city to move forward with plans for a new wastewater treatment plant or face stiff fines from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
Southeastern Michigan has proposed investing $2.4 billion in projects aimed at reducing combined sewer overflows in communities, according to a report released Tuesday by the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments. The projects, in which about $1 billion is in place now, has resulted in an 85 percent reduction in untreated CSO discharges from 1990 levels, the report said.
Sewer Rate News
Bradenton, Florida
Humble, Texas
Huntington, West Virginia
Riverside, California
09.23.08
Tuesday Headlines: Pennsylvania Voters Asked to Approve Borrowing $400m to Upgrade Water, Sewer systems
When voters in Pennsylvania go to the polls on November 4, there will be a referendum on the ballot asking them to approve $400 million in debt to help upgrade the state’s water and sewer systems. Municipal authorities with problems involving water and sewer infrastructure, stormwater issues, flood control or high-hazard dams would be eligible to receive funding.
Headlines
in Chicopee, Massachusetts, about a dozen residents with flooded basements from continued sewer overflow problems have asked the city for help. Combined storm water and sewer lines that need to be separated are the primary cause of the overflows.
A 30-inch water main break in Tampa, Florida forced the city to close a section of North 22nd Street on Monday. Repairs to the pipe are underway but the road resurfacing won’t be completed until Wednesday. The city is asking drivers to seek alternate routes until restoration is completed.
A delegation from the City of Laurel, Mississippi is scheduled to meet with Governor Haley Barbour’s staff today to discuss the city’s aging water and sewer line problems. Earlier this year city officials met in Washington, D.C. with members of the Mississippi congressional delegation about the need for federal assistance in addressing the nation’s water infrastructure.
Mayor of Milwaukee Tom Barrett has sent a letter to Illinois Congressman Mark Kirk expressing concern over the massive sewer overflows caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ike. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago estimates that as much as 99 billion gallons of water was untreated during the heavy rains two weekends ago.
Sewer Rate News
DuBois, Pennsylvania
Helena, Montana
Saint Joseph, Michigan
