11.25.08
Tuesday Headlines: Tulsa on Pace for Sewage Spill Record
This year three sewage spills in Tulsa County, Oklahoma has accounted for about half of the 53 million gallons leaked this year and has put the county on pace to record its largest amount of spilled sewage since the state has tracked unpermitted discharges. During those three incidents, an estimated 25 million spilled from sanitary sewer systems in Tulsa County.
Headlines
For the second time in November, work crews in eastern North Carolina are cleaning up a sewage spill after 60,000 gallons spilled on Monday. Only 10,000 gallons of sewage contacted state waters—which occured when the sewage flowed into some roadside ditches.
A pump station failure has caused a large discharge of raw sewage in Waldorf, Maryland. Officials estimate that over 10,000 gallons of raw sewage spilled into a stream near the pumping station, and they are advising the public to avoid contact with the water in that stream.
In Del Mar, California, an area around the San Dieguito River outlet is unsafe for recreation after a 8,090-gallon sewage spill Monday.
Gravel and debris combined to block a portion of Cary North Carolina’s sanitary sewer system resulting in a spill discovered on Sunday. An estimated 3,499 gallons of untreated waste escaped from a manhole and reached an unknown tributary of Crabtree Creek.
Sewer Rate News
Dubuque, Iowa
Lacey Township, New Jersey
Leominster, Massachusetts
Salem, Oregon
That’s it until Monday. Have a happy Thanksgiving.
11.13.08
Thursday Headlines: State of Michigan Forces City to Upgrade Sewer System
The city of Marysville, Michigan is poised to spend about $25 million to correct problems with its water and sewer systems. The plan would increase the capacity at the wastewater treatment plant from 2.4 million gallons a day to 3.4 million gallons a day, build an underground sanitary-sewer storage tank to reduce overflows, rehabilitate aging or damaged sewer lines and make general improvements to the water and wastewater treatment plants.
Headlines
A water main break in New Orleans has collapsed a large section of a woman’s front yard, including parts of her driveway, sidewalk and flower bed.
Nether Providence, Pennsylvania has provided the state Department of Environmental Protection with a detailed response on a sizable overflow that occurred in mid-September. The correspondence includes a plan by the township to prevent future incidents, which would spend more than $330,000 on an assortment of initiatives, including equipment purchases, repairs and monitoring programs.
A combination of recent rains and a plugged sewer line caused a sewage spill in Davenport, Iowa late Tuesday and early Wednesday.
A recent engineering analysis has revealed that a 250-foot section of century-old ceramic sewer pipe owned by the City of Barre Town, Vermont, and located more than a mile from a proposed residential development, will have to be replaced in order to handle the wastewater generated by more than five dozen new single-family homes.
Sewer Rate News
Camp Hill, Pennsylvania
Memphis, Missouri
Portage County, Ohio
11.11.08
Tuesday Headlines: Fort Wayne Looks for Ways to Pay for Sewer Improvements
A $240 million plan to keep raw sewage out of Fort Wayne, Indiana’s rivers would triple local sewer rates unless a new source of funding is created, and has led to a discussion of a half-cent increase in the local sales tax to pay for almost the entire project.
Headlines
As winter approaches, Mid-Michigan’s infrastructure is crumbling but financial help will be tough to come by. “There’s no question that there’s a lot of work that needs to be done in communities across the state,” said Michigan DEQ spokesman Robert McCann.
In Pennsylvania, Meyersdale borough officials are beginning to dig into a pile of state-ordered sewer projects that cost about $1.4 million. “This is something just about every community is going through,” borough President Bud Edmunds said. “We are not unique.”
It looks like it will cost the City of Middletown, New York more to borrow money to repair its massive Sterling Street sewer problems. The city had hoped to secure an interest free loan but does not have sufficient points to qualify and may have to borrow money at a 4-4.5 percent interest rate to finance construction of the project.
Sewer Rate News
DuBois, Pennsylvania
Ottumwa, Iowa
Shelton, Washington
Wrightstown, Wisconsin
10.31.08
Friday Headlines: Investigative Report Looks at Indianapolis Sewer System
Indianapolis TV station WTHR has done an investigation into the amount of untreated sewage entering Marion County’s waterways. As you might imagine the report raises questions and concerns regarding how to get the problem under control. And if you were wondering whether federal funding is needed for cities like Indianapolis here is this quote from the story.
To pay for the deep tunnels and other improvements that will help reduce Indianapolis’ combined sewer overflows, the cost is an estimated $3.5 billion.
For Marion County residents, it means the average $15 sewer portion of a current water bill is expected to jump to $100 each month.
And here’s an eye opening statistic.
All together, about 40 billion gallons of combined sewer overflow are dumped into Indiana waterways each year.
10.28.08
Tuesday Headlines: Redding, California Permanently Shuts of Water Main
The water main that blew a muddy geyser through the pavement of a road in Redding, California on Sunday will be permanently shut off. In August, the same 18-inch diameter pipe ruptured beneath a lawn on a high school campus.
Headlines
The people who live next to the sewage pump station in Hermitage, Pennsylvania where about 500,000 gallons of backed-up sewage leaked into the Shenango River earlier this month wanted answers Monday when they went to a meeting of the board that oversees the sewage system.
A water main break closed the eastbound lanes of busy thuroughfare in Denver early this morning. A 12-inch main broke at about 3:15 a.m. this morning and forced repair crews to close the busy road.
City crews in Kingston, New York, worked Monday to repair a sewer line that burst not far from the site of a 2004 collapse that sent raw sewage into the streets and front lawns. The sewer line which broke was about 100 years old.
Some Boulder, Colorado residents were without water Monday afternoon because of a main break. Drivers experienced detours and delays as an intersection was closed to repair the main.
Sewer Rate News
Clinton, Iowa
Menasha, Wisconsin
Rapid City, South Dakota
Sparta, Michigan
10.24.08
Friday Headlines: Water Main Break Traps Residents in Apartment Complex
Part of 33rd Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma will be closed for about a week after a water main break flooded a portion of the city Thursday morning. The water trapped people who live at a local apartment complex. City Public Works officials said recent rains caused the ground to shift, which broke the water line.
Headlines
A water main break may leave several hundred homes and businesses in part of Scranton, Pennsylvania without water service. People may have low water pressure, cloudy water or no water service at all.
In Atlantic, Iowa, the city council is considering an expansion of its wastewater treatment facility at a cost of $16 million. Should the city decide to proceed with the option to build a new $16 million facility, rates would increase to $42.55 for the first 3,000 gallons and $2.25 for each 1,000 gallons after that. An average bill would cost just under $50 a month.
With Election Day less than two weeks away, the media is focusing more on a ballot question in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania: Should the state borrow $400 million to pay for water and sewer improvements? Half the $400 million would go toward grants, and the rest would be issued as low-interest loans.
The village of Middleport has received a $140,169 low-interest loan from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to help plan long-term control of combined sewer overflows. Such overflows are a major cause of water pollution and can have adverse effect on human health.
Sewer Rate News
Blacklake, Georgia
Cape Elizabeth, Maine
Richmond, Missouri
10.20.08
Monday Headlines: New Technology to Help Chico, Calif. Monitor Sewer System
New sewer monitoring technology will allow Chico, California to keep a better eye on its sewer system and plan ahead to avoid future problems. The meters will monitor the amount of water going through the sewer system, without having to pay someone to monitor the sewers during winter rainstorms.
Headlines
In New York, boaters and other Hudson River enthusiasts will need to take a break from the watertoday because Westchester County is planning to release 2 million to 3 million gallons of treated sewage through a Yonkers pump station in order to make a repair to the waste system.
A sinkhole slowed traffic on U.S. 1 in Woodbridge, Virgnia on Saturday. A split water main caused the hole to form around 8 a.m., leaving a gas station in the area without water. Traffic was reduced to only two lanes - one southbound and one northbound.
Broken water mains in Watchung, New Jersey forced affected residents to boil their water on Saturday.
Government officials and financial experts are warning that a freeze in the market for municipal bonds could cause major delays nationwide in government projects as basic as replacing water pipes.
Sewer Rate News
Brockton, Massachusetts
Clearlake Oaks, California
Crescent City, California
Libertyville, Illinois
Ocheyedan, Iowa
10.17.08
Friday Headlines: Sinkhole Swallows RV After Sewer Collapses
A large chunk of a street in Cleveland, Ohio collapsed, creating a sinkhole that swallowed the back end of a camper. A spokesperson from the Department of Water said a sewer collapsed, creating a hole that is 15 feet by 15 feet and seven feet deep. (picture courtesy of WEWS-TV)
Headlines
After years of waiting, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management has told the city of Wabash, Indiana what it needs to do with regards to its stormwater and sanitary sewers. Mayor Bob Vanlandingham was quick to point out that the work would involve millions of dollars and would almost certainly result in higher sewer bills in the near future to build up funds for the work to be done over the next 20 years.
In Oakland, California, an advisory issued Wednesday after sewage spilled into a harbor was lifted Thursday night when the water was deemed safe.
A water main break has closed a section of state Route 256 in Baltimore, Ohio.
Iowa City, Iowa likely will complete an emergency project to replace sewer lines damaged during the 2008 flood. If the lines are not replaced, they could release sewage directly into the Iowa River. Engineers estimate the project will cost more than $1 million but the city expects FEMA to reimburse 90% of the cost.
Sewer Rate News
Baytown, Texas
Jeffersonville, Kentucky
Russellville, Arkansas
York, Nebraska
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
10.08.08
Wednesday Headlines: Sewer Repairs to Cost Windsor, N.J. Millions
Sporadic sewer problems around West Windsor, New Jersey have prompted the township council to approve a bond ordinance for sewer improvements totaling $6,072,621 and the issuance of $3,510,000 in bonds to finance part of the cost. The township has been plagued by a series of sewer problems, many of them due to heavy rains.
Headlines
A state consent decree requiring Middletown, New York to build a new sewer treatment plant and correct sewage overflow problems was approved by the Common Council Tuesday evening.
The installation of a 24-inch water line in downtown Tempe, Arizona and adjacent to Arizona State University is expected to create delays and detours for pedestrians and motorists alike. This $4.8 million project is necessary in anticipation of new developments in the downtown area creating a greater demand for water. The project is expected to be completed by mid-December.
City Council members in Tama, Iowa decided on Monday to add on to the city’s water treatment plant. The city has about $400,000 saved for the project, but addressing the water problems will likely require a rate increase.
Some households in Jacksonville, Texas will see improvementsin their wastewater system in the near future as more than 4,000 feet of sewer lines will be replaced.
Sewer Rate News
Greencastle, Pennsylvania
Marshall, Texas
