07.09.09
Thursday’s Water News: Seattle Main Break Releases 860,000 Gallons of Water
A water-pipe break on Harbor Island in Seattle Wednesday evening released 860,000 gallons of water, flooding railroad tracks and a freight-storage building.
Headlines
A $4 million sewer line project proposed for the Rattlesnake area of Missoula, Montana will go to the Missoula City Council next week. The sewer line would convert more than 300 residential properties from septic to a sewer main.
About 11,000 residents in Fredonia, New York are being advised to boil their water today because of a water main break there Wednesday night.
Stimulus Spotlight
Officials in Smyrna, Delaware have approved contracts funded by $3.7 million in federal stimulus dollars to upgrade the town’s drinking water system. In the first phase, George and Lynch Inc. will replace six valves in a 10-inch water main from a water tower. Then Sprig Construction will replace a two-inch water main in the town.
The city of Fort Wayne, Indiana has received a $1.5 million stimulus grant and a $3.5 million low-interest loan, which will be used to finance three sewer separation projects.
Sewer Rate News
Bethlehem, West Virginia
Corsicana, Texas
Des Plaines, Illinois
06.10.09
Wednesday’s Water News: Charlotte Water Main Break Causes Sinkhole, Closes Road
Work crews in Charlotte, North Carolina are working to fix a sinkhole after a water pipe burst on Tuesday creating the hole. The sinkhole was discovered when a driver stopped at the intersection thought she had a flat tire only to realize her front tire was in the sinkhole. The road remains closed to traffic.
Headlines
A water main break in Evansville, Indiana shut down a road on the city’s west side, causing water to gush onto the street and disrupting services to several neighboring homes.
In Saginaw, Michigan, more than 9 million gallons of partially treated sewage was discharged to the Saginaw River last week from a combined sewer overflow.
A 12-inch water main break in a Staten Island neighborhood left 100 residents and 30 businesses without water this morning.
Stimulus Spotlight
Camden, New Jersey will receive $13.5 million from the economic stimulus package to repair its water and sewer system. The city’s public works director says Camden could use $50 million for water and sewer upgrades but there’s no money to repay traditional loans in order to complete that work.
The California water districts of Coachella Valley and Mission Springs have received word that $1.3 million will be available to them to fund drinking water projects.
Sewer Rate News
East Dundee, Illinois
Huntington, West Virginia
Newburgh, Indiana
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
06.05.09
Friday’s Water News: Millbrae, Calif. to Replace Wastewater Treatment Plant
In California, the city of Millbrae and its over 50-year-old wastewater treatment plant will get a much needed makeover after the city inked a $34 million contract with the California Water Resources Control Board to use state revolving fund financing for the project.
Headlines
In Fort Myers Beach, Florida, a water main break closed down San Carlos Boulevard. The main break this morning flooded the road and forced water to be shut down in about 80 homes.
Raw sewage has flowed into Overton creek (TX) for the 3rd time in four years. On a piece of land more than 400 feet long by 75 feet wide raw sewage sits about eight inches deep.
Water is overflowing in High Point, North Carolina after a major break in a water main has closed the south and north bound lanes of state Highway 311.
Stimulus Spotlight
Rockford, Illinois will be using $7 million in federal economic stimulus funds to complete “some badly needed” water infrastructure projects
$130 million will be awarded to 22 communities throughout New York for the construction of water treatment plants and the installation of sewer system upgrades. The projects are estimated to create 1,300 jobs across the state in many areas that have been affected severely by the current recession.
Sewer Rate News
Ogden, Utah
Rockford, Michigan
Wellesley, Massachusetts
Worcester, 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
06.01.09
Monday’s Water News: Detroit Cancels CSO Control Project
The giant Upper Rouge Tunnel combined sewer overflow control project was canceled Friday by Detroit city officials worried about residents’ ability to pay increased sewer fees to build the $1.2 billion project.
Headlines
In Washington, a major sewage pipe that ruptured Saturday on Bainbridge Island continued to spill tens of thousands of gallons of raw waste into Eagle Harbor today, and an official said the line can’t be fixed until Tuesday morning.
Many residents in Graniteville, South Carolina are hopeful that Aiken County officials will be able to secure federal funding for an overhaul of the town’s sewer system.
Stimulus Spotlight
Bidders who want a piece of the $270 million the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has set aside for water projects from the economic stimulus have until June 15 to submit their projects for consideration.
Maryland will receive nearly $122 million in federal stimulus funds to help boost the state water infrastructure projects and improve the Chesapeake Bay.
Sewer Rate News
Joplin, Missouri
Litchfield, Illinois
Mansfield, Massachusetts
Newark, Delaware
05.13.09
Wednesday’s Water News: Akron Proposes Plan to Fix Combined Sewers
Don Plusquellic, Mayor of Akron, Ohio, has proposed ”a phased approach” aimed at fixing the city’s combined sewer problem. Akron has 35 combined sewers that overflow and dump diluted raw sewage and storm water into the waterways. The city is one of 86 Ohio communities with combined sewer overflow problems and eliminating the problem will cost an estimated $6.3 billion.
Headlines
Officials in Ironton, Ohio have unveiled the timetable and requirements needed for the reconstruction of its heavily-dated combined sewer overflow system on the city’s north side.
A water main break in Muncie, Indiana on Tuesday afternoon backed up traffic and caused temporary water shutoffs to about 50 customers.
Stimulus Spotlight
North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue has recommended that Clay County be approved for $1.07 million from the Appalachian Regional Council in the first round of distributions from federal stimulus money. These funds would come from the state’s drinking water fund with half of the money in the form of a grant and the other half is a zero-interest 30-year loan.
The state of Wyoming Loan and Investment Board has awarded nearly $40 million in federal economic stimulus money for water projects around the state. The total includes $19 million for wastewater projects and $19.5 million for drinking water projects that will fund 43 projects around Wyoming.
Sewer Rate News
Payson, Illinois
Temple Terrace, Florida
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
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
04.14.09
Tuesday Headlines: Suit Filed Against Benicia, Calif. for Sewer Overflows
A second lawsuit has been brought against the city of Benicia, California for sewer overflows. At issue in the case is a city sewer line that has backed up and overflowed into the plantiff’s side yard several times over the years.
Headlines
Portage Township, Michigan has received a grant from the USDA totaling 75 percent of the cost of the project to install a sewer line
Oregon environmental regulators have fined the city of Portland $16,000 for two failures in one of the city’s sewer lines last year.
Recent storms contributed in Baldwin County, Alabama to another sewer overflow after heavy rain swept through the area.
More than a mile of sewer line will be replaced under a bid approved by officials in Bowling Green, Kentucky on Monday.
Sewer Rate News
Mayville, Wisconsin
Quincy, Illinois
Riviera Beach, California
Sackets Harbor, New York
