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.
10.27.08
Monday Headlines: In Boston, 16-Inch Water Main Break Closes Streets
Boston Public Works crews worked overnight on Saturday and all day on Sunday after a 16-inch water main ruptured. Roads were shut down around City Hall and the Brooke Courthouse, and a stretch of Cambridge Street was slightly buckled by the break. Some homes were flooded and other residents reported low water pressure.
Headlines
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is investigating the cause of the discharge of nearly 400,000 gallons of sewage sludge from a sewage treatment plant in Bordenton Township.
Water-main breaks during routine hydrant flushing are believed to be the cause of an E. coli contamination last week in Fulton, New York. Said Mayor Ron Woodward, “We have 63 miles of water line in the city and some of them are 100 years old.”
New Castle County, Delaware faces more than $145,000 in penalties and other expenses for violating a five-year-old order to improve overflowing sewage and stormwater collection systems.
In Miles Crossing, Oregon, work has begun on a long-awaited sewer system. The $8.1 million project is expected to take a year to complete and will initially serve about 400 homes and businesses.
Sewer Rate News
Ashland, Pennsylvania
Homer, Alaska
Lake County, California
Lincoln, Illinois
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
10.13.08
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
10.09.08
Thursday Headlines: Water Main Break Floods Shopping Mall
The lower floor of a major western Pennsylvania mall is closed while firefighters and other crews work to clean up after an 8-inch water main break flooded at least 30 stores. More than 80 firefighters are using squeegees and pumps to clear out the water at the Westmoreland Mall in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.
Headlines
A Marin Municipal Water District main broke early Wednesday in Woodacre, California sending a geyser-like flow 50 feet into the air. Water shot in the air unabated for almost 30 minutes, as 4,500 gallons were lost through a hole in a 6-inch line.
There was a raging torrent of water on Wednesday morning in Honolulu after a 24-inch water main break . An area resident said, “looks like one big surf coming through — one big surf. Everything, garbage cans, everything came toward us.”
The new water pre-treatment plant in Waco, Texas will cost about 39 million dollars and pull the plug on the problem with the city’s tap water.
Sewer Rate News
Brockton, Massachusetts
Bullhead City, Arizona
Hollister, Missouri
Livermore Falls, Maine
I’m out of the office tomorrow, so check back on Monday for all new headlines.
10.07.08
Tuesday Headlines: Sacarmento Looks to Upgrade its Sewer System
District officials are recommending that the Sacramento Area Sewer District board spend millions of dollars installing new hardware and cleaning lines to prevent costly sewage overflows. In recent years, the number of claims against the district - most often a result of raw sewage spilling into a home - has tripled. In 2007, the district paid $3.1 million in settlements.
Headlines
A water main break in Alexandria, Virginia left four high-rise apartment buildings without water from 1 a.m. to 9 a.m. this morning.
A broken water main shut down part of Atlantic Street in Bridgeton, New Jersey for much of the day on Monday. “That’s just another old section that we have,” said Department of Water and Sewer Superintendent John Wuzzardo. “We had to replace 13 feet of main. … Just old pipe. Not much we can do. I don’t know how old that section is, but we have 100-year-old pipe.”
In New York City, Department of Environmental Protection officials are monitoring a water main break that has shut down several streets and one entrance to the Holland Tunnel. City officials also say flooding may have undermined the integrity of part of the street.
Sewer Rate News
Honesdale, Pennsylvania
Lincoln, Illinois
Lynn, Massachusetts
Oneida, Illinois
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
10.03.08
Friday Headlines: Water Main Break Closes Major Street in Sioux City
A section of a busy street Sioux City, Iowa could be closed until the middle of next week after a water main break Thursday afternoon. It didn’t take long to fix the break, and restore service, but city workers say it could be until next Wednesday before they can fill the hole and repair the street.
Headlines
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency will provide a $1.9 million low-interest loan to city of Willoughby for sewer improvements in exchange for the city’s agreement to purchase wetlands in Summit County. Willoughby will benefit from the loan with better sewers and Summit will get protection for wetlands along the Tuscarawas River.
The Department of Energy is preparing to build Hanford, Washington’s largest water treatment system to clean up one of Hanford’s most problematic underground plumes of contaminated water. DOE is planning to build Hanford’s largest pump and treat station at a cost of $174 million to attack the contaminants and clean the water.
A water main broke on West Michigan Avenue in Battle Creek, Michigan Friday morning closed part of the road and may affect Battle Creek Central High School’s Homecoming Parade, which is scheduled for today.
In Massachusetts, both branches of the state legislature approved the Nantucket Sewer Act this week, which if signed by Governor Deval Patrick will give the town a broader ability to manage and expand the municipal sewer system.
Sewer Rate News
Grant, Nebraska
Rome, Georgia
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
09.23.08
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
