11.10.08
Monday Headlines: Atlanta Completes Deep Sewer Tunnel Construction
In Atlanta, Georgia, after three years of digging and pouring concrete, construction crews have completed a deep sewer tunnel that can carry and store up to 177 million gallons of rain and sewage. The $190 million tunnel has been the most controversial piece of the city’s $4 billion overhaul of its water and sewer system. about 10 percent of Atlanta remains hooked to combined sewers.
Headlines
A water main break flooded an east side neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio this morning. Streets in the area were flooded with several inches of water and seventy-five homes were without water service.
Residents in Placerville, California were told Friday they could resume using their tap water without boiling after a possible contamination threat caused by a water main break. About 4,500 customers were affected by the break.
Michigan regulators have taken action to prevent major problems with a wastewater treatment plant in the city of Harbor Beach. The city has signed a consent order with the state Department of Environmental Quality, agreeing to pay a $28,700 fine, reimburse the DEQ for enforcement costs and upgrade the plant’s Industrial Pretreatment Program.
The EPA is requiring the city of Burley, Idaho to improve its wastewater treatment plant, including the reduction of effluent phosphorous and ammonia. The city estimates improvements will cost at least $2 million over the next five years.
Sewer Rate News
Bloomington, Illinois
Columbus, Ohio
Laurel, Mississippi
Modesto, California
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
09.05.08
Friday Headlines: State Bailout is Latest Plan in a County’s Sewer Debt Crisis
A bailout plan by Alabama Governor Bob Riley to help Jefferson County avoid bankruptcy would limit annual rate hikes for customers to 2.85 percent. Since 1996, county sewer customers have seen their bills increase 329 percent. The plan calls for paying the banks everything they are owed but at lower interest rates. If the banks don’t agree to the proposal, the county will likely file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy.
Jefferson County has $3.2 billion in sewer debt it can’t fully pay. If the county opts for bankruptcy, it would be the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, easily surpassing the previous high of $1.6 billion set by Orange County, California in 1994.
Headlines
Leaders in Brownsburg, Indiana still lack answers for sewer problems that have plagued about 400 homeowners north of the town for more than five years. The town received a $3 million construction bid in June to extend sewers into the neighborhoods and is now working on a rate study to give those homeowners options on how to pay for the project.
The Common Council of Appleton, Wisconsin on Wednesday voted 14-2 to accept a consultant’s study recommending $11 million in improvements at the city’s water treatment plant. The study also includes a memo from the state Department of Natural Resources suggesting an additional $3 million in improvements to meet current and future environmental regulations.
Yesterday Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) co-hosted with Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson (R) a transportation and infrastructure discussion with about 40 local leaders in Boise. “What is underground is in worse shape than the bridges,” said Blumenauer. “72,000 miles of the nation’s water and sewer pipes are over 80 years of age, dating back to (President Calvin) Coolidge.”
Sewer Rate News
McCook, Nebraska
Netarts, Oregon
07.11.08
Friday Headlines: Water Main Breaks Continue in Vallejo, Calif.
For the second time this week, a ruptured water main left some residents and businesses in Vallejo, California without water. A 16-foot section of cast iron pipe split open, spewing thousands of gallons of water and rupturing the street surface above the pipe. City officials place the cost to repair the pipeline and the street from Thursday’s break at $100,000.
Headlines
More from California, yesterday in Simi Valley a buildup of grease, sticks and paper caused a blockage in a sewer line, causing sewage to overflow from a manhole. Between 250 and 500 gallons of sewage discharged into the street, a storm drain and then into Arroyo Simi.
In Ohio, a sinkhole is causing numerous problems in a Toledo community. As the sinkhole continues to increase in size, so does the smell of sewage.
A sinkhole in Omaha nearly swallowed a car Thursday afternoon. A representative from the Metropolitan Utilities District said a water main break caused the sinkhole.
Sewer Rate News
Cranberry, Pennsylvania
Lake Placid, New York
Shawano County, Wisconsin
04.02.08
Wednesday Headlines: Everglades to Get Water Treatment Plant
Construction on a long-awaited water treatment plant in the Florida Everglades is nearly complete - several months ahead of schedule
Headlines
A clogged pipe in Dartmouth, Massachusetts causes a sewage leak in a middle school locker room
The city of Mountain Home, Idaho spends $2 million to buy land for wastewater disposal
The price of water in St. Louis went up Tuesday, and residents of St. Louis and St. Charles counties and Southern Illinois may be next
In West Virginia, Putnam County commissioners hope to secure a loan of $5.5 million to help bring water to 184 households.
03.07.08
Welcome to the Blog!
Welcome to Water News Update, a blog dedicated to spotlighting the need for greater investment in America’s environmental infrastructure. I’m the person who will be doing most of the writing for the blog. Every day I will do my best to give you a sampling of water infrastructure stories from around the country.
If you read something you like, please comment. Also, if you read something you don’t like, feel free to comment. Thanks for reading.
Headlines
In Cleveland, a break in a 30-inch water main floods a downtown building
The bay area continues to have problems with sewage spills this time into the Pacific Ocean
Looking for a solution to increased water storage capactiy, the Idaho state legislature considers studying the issue
Governor of Pennsylvania, Ed Rendell, will appoint a new task force charged with finding ways to help fund $20 billion worth of maintenance and reconstruction projects needed to meet federal water quality standards
