August 18, 2010
Wednesday’s Water News: Water Main Break Causes Traffic Headaches in Greenville, S.C.
A water main break in Greenville, South Carolina that caused headaches for commuters has been fixed. Right before morning rush hour today, the water main broke below I-385 causing delays for the morning commute. For much of the day, Wednesday, the giant crater caused problems, not only to commuters, but also to residence’s and businesses.
Headlines
In Amarillo, Texas about 80,000 gallons of wastewater leaked from a broken sewage pipeline. The wastewater leak was discovered by city personnel. The pipeline broke because the pump controls at the main pump station in Southeast Park failed and caused a pressure surge in the pipeline.
Rockton, Illinois leaders are speaking out against the Illinois EPA fining the Village for leaking raw sewage into the Rock River.
Residents in Niles, Ohio want to know what the city is doing to stem flooding in the Washington Avenue area during heavy rains.
Stimulus Spotlight
Growth in the Hernando, Florida, which now has a population estimated at 15,000 and growing, is projected to continue, and city officials took steps Tuesday to seek authorization for a $2.3 million-dollar low-interest loan to construct a new water tower adjacent to Interstate 55. The city expects to receive approximately $400,000 in federal stimulus funds, which will cut the actual debt to about $1.7 million.
Sewer Rate News
Ashtabula, Ohio
Milton, Massachusetts
Prescott, Arizona
Winsted, Connecticut
August 17, 2010
Tuesday’s Water News: Small North Carolina Town to Receive $3.3M for New Sewer System
In North Carolina, the Currituck County Board of Commissioners has approved plans to build a new public sewer system in the small communinity of Moyock after three years of debate and negotiation. The new $3.3 million plant would treat 100,000 gallons per day but could be expanded to 600,000 gallons per day.
Headlines
A water line break drowned a Tulsa, Oklahoma neighborhood in acres of water on Monday afternoon. The water flooded the street, dozens of yards, and swamped several homes. As the water receded, it left a gaping hole and a buckled road in its muddy wake.
Logan, Utah Mayor Randy Watts said the state Department of Environmental Quality has given the city seven years to cut by half the amount of phosphorous its sewage lagoons, located on the west side of town, discharge to Cutler Reservoir.
A $5.2 million upgrade to the village of Winneconne, Wisconsin’s wastewater treatment plant has started and is expected to take 18 months to complete. The project includes work to upgrade and increase the facility’s ability for wastewater treatment that should be good for at least 25 years.
Stimulus Spotlight
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has awarded more than $1.46 million in grants for engineering studies to 50 public water supply systems throughout the state. These awards, which are funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will fund engineering reports and facility plans that will include data collection, analysis and water system planning.
Sewer Rate News
East Moline, Illinois
Galesburg, Illinois
M0yock, North Carolina
Northport, Alabama
August 3, 2010
Tuesday’s Water News: EPA Fines Five Pennslvania Sewage Plants
The Environmental Protection Agency has issued five separate fines for violations by Pennsylvania sewage treatment facilities across the state. The fines have reportedly been issued because these plants are failing to test water issued by industrial plants.
Headlines
The citizens of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin are furious with the town council after recent sewage backups soaked 700 homes. Residents claim the flooding happened because of the town’s poor sewage system, as these floods are a regular occurrence.
An electrical malfunction caused raw sewage to pour into West Fork Stones River in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The problem was spotted after dead fish began floating on the river’s surface.
Heavy rains in Duluth, Minnesota caused a 49,000 gallon mixture of sewage and rainwater to flow into Lake Superior.
Stimulus Spotlight
Thanks to the stimulus package, a combination of federal grants and low interest loans amounting to $668,000 dollars is going to help the town of Haledon, New Jersey reline 10,000 feet of sewage pipes.
Sewer Rate News
East Moline, Illinois
Mount Airy, North Carolina
North Ridgeville, Ohio
Poplarville, Mississippi
July 27, 2010
Tuesday’s Water News: Sewage floods into South Philadelphia Homes
A sewer main break in south Philadelphia has caused raw wastewater to flow into resident’s homes and onto the streets. The source of the break is still unknown and officials have warned citizens to not drink any water and to turn off any appliances that use water until further notice.
Headlines
Beaches in Chicago are shut down after contaminated stormwater flowed into Lake Michigan. This wastewater release was forced because the sewage system was overtaxed and would have flooded streets otherwise.
The village of Adirondack, New York has been fined $10,000 dollars after a sewage spill leaks into nearby Lake Colby. The State Department of Environmental Protection issued the fine after they discovered a wastewater pump failure caused the spill.
More than 100 residents in Greenfield Township, Pennsylvania are being evicted from their homes due to sub-standard wastewater infrastructure in the town. The order was issued by an Erie County judge after health officials found puddles of sewage and a shoddy wastewater system in place.
Stimulus Spotlight
Thanks to the stimulus package, the city of Batavia, New York is having it’s sewer and water pipes replaced on Bank Street. The project is being funded by a $411,000 dollar grant provided by the stimulus package.
Sewer Rate News
Coachella Valley, California
Indianapolis, Indiana
Jesup, Iowa
Ovilla, Texas
July 26, 2010
Monday’s Water News: Allegheny County Communities Affected by Water Main Break
This morning was a rough one for many families and businesses in who lost water in several Allegheny County (Penn.) communities. Residents say the water main break is the third in as many days for the area. Once water service was restored some residents discovered they had to let their faucets run for a while.
Headlines
The Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati has finished a sewer system construction project in Green Township, which installed 3,750 feet of new sewer line and eliminated the need for several pump stations.
A water main break in Culpeper, Virginia sent over 300,000 gallons of water rushing down a main road in the residential district. The pipe that burst was only an 8-inch line, but the enormous pressure exacerbated the spill.
Stimulus Spotlight
The city of Chino Valley in Arizona has approved a new city budget on Friday night. The budget includes projects to restore water and other types of infrastructure and depends on up to $42.4 million in stimulus funds to accomplish these goals.
Over $11 million in federal stimulus funds have been granted to the city of Asbury Park, New Jersey. These funds will go to underground electric, sewer, and cable lines to improve services to the city’s residents.
Sewer Rate News
Decatur, Illinois
Irving, Texas
Louisville, Kentucky
Sarasota, Florida
South Bend, Indiana
July 21, 2010
Wednesday’s Water News: Officials in Shreveport Struggle to Clean up Champion Lake
After a 9 million gallons of sewage spilled into Champion Lake due to a burst wastewater line, officials in Shreveport, Louisiana, went straight to work two weeks ago to clean up the mess. However, cleanup is taking longer than expected and officials are struggling to get the lake’s bacteria levels back to a safe point.
Headlines
Heavy rains caused sewage overflows in La Joya, Texas. The mayor warned citizens that the wastewater system could not hold against the heavy rains to come, but many did not listen. Thousands of dollars in damage was done to homes and property after sewage seeped into houses following the rain.
The wastewater treatment plant in Centerville, Iowa had to be shut down after heavy rains pounded the town. Officials are worried that some of the water went untreated, and that there could be contaminated drinking water going into people’s homes.
In Los Angeles, at least part of a busy hospital in east Hollywood was temporarily without water today due to a water main break. Traffic was also affected by the break and affected the afternoon commute.
Stimulus Spotlight
Thanks to the stimulus package, the town of Joliet, Illinois will be building a new sewage line to ease pressure on their wastewater treatment plant. The plan costs an estimated $15 million dollars and is being paid for by low-interest loans provided by the stimulus package.
Sewer Rate News
Kiowa, Kansas
Newbern, Tennessee
Traver, California
San Ramon, California
Stayton, Oregon
July 19, 2010
Monday’s Water News: Cincinnati Area Needs $3.5 Billion to Fix Sewers
The cost to fix the sewer system Hamilton County, Ohio’s sewer system is estimated at $3.5 billion. The series of projects – which range from treatment plant upgrades to rain gardens – will take 20 years or more to finish. Fixing the problems in the 3,000-mile network of sewer pipes buried deep beneath the city of Cincinnati and its suburbs will by far be the most expensive infrastructure project in the region’s history.
Headlines
In San Antonio, Texas, a water main that supplies Rolling Oaks Mall and a nearby neighborhood broke early Sunday, spewing a fountain of water into the street.
Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania is taking action on a measure that should alleviate some of the pressure on the overburdened sewer lines in the area by beginning construction on a sewer bypass system.
Stimulus Spotlight
The new sewer plant project in La Salle, Illinois is now underway. The $15 million project is being funded through federal stimulus funds and grants; the plant will process over half a million gallons of water per day and offer the ability to increase this amount with the addition of more tanks.
Halifax County, Virginia is receiving nearly $16 million in stimulus funds for its multi-million dollar upgrade. The project received nearly $11 million in federal grants and a $5 million federal loan. Construction will last until 2013.
Sewer Rate News
East Moline, Iowa
Kinnelon, New Jersey
Ukiah, California
June 30, 2010
Wednesday’s Water News: Millions of Gallons of Sewage Pours into Mississippi River
A wastewater pump in St. Louis failed, allowing millions of gallons of sewage to spill directly into the Mississippi River. City officials have fixed the pump and claim the drinking water is safe. However, state EPA officials were notified late and are still investigating the situation.
Headlines
A hot springs Resort in Ukiah, Oregon has been fined over $500,000 due to sewage violations over the last ten years. Officials say the resort had been operating illegal sewage lagoons and failing to treat its wastewater properly. The resulting sewage was leaking into nearby creeks and contaminating the water.
Some 60,000 vehicles that would normally take Hoosick Street in Troy, New York are being detoured today, and for the next several days, as the city fixes the apparent water main break that flooded the streets on Tuesday evening.
A restraining order has been issues to stop a condo project, in Lake Ozark, Missouri from dumping sewer sludge into the Lake of the Ozarks. Inspections by the state Department of Natural Resources showed the wastewater treatment system was not operating properly allowing sludge and visible solids to pass through to the Lake.
Stimulus Spotlight
Thanks to the economic stimulus package, residents of the 14th Ward in Chicago, Illinois are going to have new pipes installed underneath the city to help wastewater flow. The new pipes will cost $2.4 million and will be replacing pipes from 1910.
Sewer Rate News
Benton, Illinois
Bossier City, Louisiana
Clayton, North Carolina
Haverhill, Massachusetts
Morestown, New Jersey
June 25, 2010
Friday’s Water News: Sewer Upgades for Florida Keys Need More Funding
Despite Florida Gov. Charlie Crist’s (I) authorization this month of as much as $200 million for a long-term effort to provide upgraded sewer systems for the Florida Keys, the prospects are poor for funding in total the estimated $937-million project.
Headlines
John Hosch of Cartersville, Georgia is suing the state of West Virginia for not building proper wastewater facilities to live up to the Clean Water Act. Hosch ran into problems when he sold lots of a residential plan he was developing and was then denied a permit to build a sewage system. This denial was due to a lack of proper wastewater treatment facilities. The buyers of the lots sued him, so he, in turn, has sued the state.
Contaminants like e-coli are believed to be in Wilkinson Creek after sewage leaks in Bradley County, Tennessee. Officials are looking into the problem and will determine the cause and cost of fixing it.
After heavy rains, basements in Chicago, Illinois were flooded with raw sewage. The rains overran the septic system of the city, and residents are being forced to clean up the mess left behind.
Stimulus Spotlight
An upsurge in stimulus water projects will begin this summer. Last year, there were 129 projects provided by the stimulus, this year, that number skyrockets to 2,800. Considering state needs for waste and drinking water infrastructure are above $500 billion, the increase is a necessity for overwhelmed state and local budgets.
States and local governments are slashing spending on infrastructure projects so fast that even federal stimulus money hasn’t filled in the gap. Investment in infrastructure is on pace to drop almost 7% this year to $269 billion, according to a USA TODAY analysis of federal data. That would be the first decline in state and local construction spending since the Census Bureau started tracking in 1993.
Sewer Rate News
Marion Township, Michigan
Rochester, New York
South Bend, Indiana
Taylorsville, North Carolina
Vigo County, Indiana
June 11, 2010
Friday’s Water News: Tens of Millions of Gallons of Sewage Leaks in Kansas City
A clean-up has finally begun in Kansas City, Missouri. It is estimated that three years of sewage spills have accumulated to a staggering amount. Tens of millions of gallons of sewage has been spilling, and neither city nor state officials have attempted to clean up until now.
Headlines
In Lafayette, Indiana, it has taken two years to complete the first phase of a massive underground tunnel, meant to help eliminate combined sewage overflow into the Wabash River. The project is part of a 20-year plan to improve its sewer system.
Five thousand gallons of sewage leaked into the Saluda River in Columbia, South Carolina. A line blockage is believed to have caused the spill. State officials are attempting to stop the leak and clean up the mess.
Residents in Barrington, Illinois are demanding the village do something to address flooding that occurs doing periods of heavy rain. The village recently repaired pipes and relined a sewer in an area affected by flooding, but despite the improvements, flooding has continued.
Stimulus Spotlight
A bond has been issued in Pittsford, Vermont to build a badly needed wastewater treatment plant. The city floated $2 million dollars in low-interest federal bonds and expects a stimulus package grant to cover the rest of the cost at about $1.8 million dollars.
Alcoa, Tennessee will receive a $1 million grant from the economic stimulus for the construction of two new water storage reservoirs. The overall cost of the project is estimated to be $5.8 million.
Sewer Rate News
Fruitland, Idaho
Greensboro, North Carolina
Groton, Connecticut
Hannibal, Missouri
Lynn, Massachusetts
