11.06.08
Thursday Headlines: Sinkhole Swallows Car After Water Main Break
Work crews in San Diego repaired a ruptured water line Thursday morning that sent muddy water flowing through a neighborhood. The broken water main forced evacuations, flooded homes and caused a sinkhole that swallowed a parked car. The mishap left dozens of homes without water service overnight.
Headlines
In Western Pennsylvania, the tiny borough of West Leechburg plans to borrow more than its annual budget to separate the sanitary and storm sewers in the last area of the borough where they still are combined. The council is scheduled to vote next week on borrowing $400,000, which would cover half the cost of the $800,000 project.
A Wednesday morning water main break in Coloroado Springs, Colorado caused some headaches with 18 homes losing water. The situation is expected to get worse for the city temperature changes comdined with aging pipes is expected to lead to more breaks.
An assisted living facility in Lincoln, Illinois cleared a major hurdle for a proposed expansion project Monday when the City Council approved changes to a sewer upgrade.
Before Duluth, Minnesota can build its next underground holding tank for sanitary sewer overflows, it’s got some cleanup to do. The chosen site has been found to contain lead, diesel compounds and selenium that exceed state health risk standards.
Sewer Rate News
Sayre, Pennsylvania
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
11.04.08
Tuesday Headlines: Voters to Decide Ballot Initiatives on Water Infrasture
It’s Election Day and there are issues on the ballot in a two states that will determine how much is invested in water infrastructure.
In Pennsylvania, voters will decide if the state should borrow $400 million to pay for water and sewer infrastructure upgrades. If passed the money would go to PENNVEST to distribute to communities for water infrastructure upgrades.
In Arkansas, voters will decide on Question Number 1, which if passed would allow the state’s Natural Resources Commission to buy up to $300 million in bonds to help local governments finance water and wastewater infrastructure projects.
Headlines
Hundreds of people in Centerville, Georgia had trouble getting ready for work and school this morning after a water main break.
A segment of Hennepin County Road 101 in Wayzata, Minnesota was closed yesterday so that work crews could repair a broken water main.
Borough council members in Ursina, Pennsylvania were visited by state officials Monday who urged progress on a $3 million sewer project. The council has decided to move forward with a grant application to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development which could pay as much as 75 percent of the bill for a system that includes a 36,000 gallon per day treatment plant.
The City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Environmental Services will be working on 12 major sewer projects in November that may impact roadways and traffic on Island of Oahu.
Sewer Rate News
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Highland, California
09.25.08
Thursday Headlines: Pipe Break Leads to 25 Foot Sinkhole in West Chester, Penn.
A 12-foot-deep sinkhole opened up in West Chester, Pennsylvania on Wednesday after a broken stormwater main caused saturated soils to collapse. Workers with the borough’s Public Works Department called in a pipeline construction company to handle the emergency after the sinkhole expanded to 25 feet long by 12 feet across.
Headlines
In Maryland, Anne Arundel County health officials have ordered Bear Neck Creek in Edgewater closed and warn against direct contact with the water. The closure was ordered because of a wastewater overflow Wednesday in a nearby sewer collection system.
Michigan’s environmental chief warned the Detroit City Council on Wednesday that continued delays in approving a $600-million tunnel system to store sewage and storm runoff during heavy rain could cost ratepayers an extra $100 million in interest on construction bonds and put the city in violation of its water pollution permit.
Roughly 21,000 gallons of sewage spilled into Pinehurst Lake on Tuesday after a force main broke in Carthage, North Carolina.
Crews in Colorado Springs, Colorado are working to divert the water in Sand Creek away from a bank that has been badly eroded by recent storms, coming dangerously close to exposing a sewage pipe. Since 2000, Colorado Springs Utilities has spent $100 million dollars on their wastewater collection system.
Sewer Rate News
Camp Verde, Arizona
Colfax, California
Shafer, Minnesota
Sheffield, Alabama
09.22.08
Monday Headlines: Water Main Break Causes City to Almost Run Out of Water
Officials in Maple Plain, Minnesota were relieved last week after several hours of searching finally turned up a broken water line that had threatened to empty the city’s water tower. A ruptured 8-inch, dead-ended main situated behind an industrial park building was located and closed off from the rest of the water system with roughly a half-hour supply remaining at the city’s disposal.
Headlines
A $2.6 million project is underway in Hillsboro, Oregon to replace old sanitary sewer lines and add a separate storm water drainage system. The combination of the two will help keep stormwater out of the sewer lines during heavy rainfall.
Residents in a portion of Kirksville, Missouri were under a 48-hour boil order this weekend after a water main break on Friday.
The Butler Township Board of Supervisors has tentatively approved an upgrade of the storm water drainage system in Lavelle, Pennsylvania. A couple of months ago new water lines were put in and the township felt that it would also be a good time to update the storm water infrastructure.
State Route 10 in Cheshire, Connecticut should be opened in both directions this afternoon after a broken water main is fixed and the road patched up. A 12-inch water main underneath Route 10 broke Sunday night, sending water gushing and leaving a sinkhole in the road. Route 10 was shut down overnight but one lane was opened this morning.
Sewer Rate News
Eugene and Springfield, Oregon
Macedon, New York
Manteca, California
Sturtevant, Wisconsin
07.22.08
Tuesday Headlines: Water Main Breaks Reveal GSO’s Aging Infrastructure
For the second time in a year, a sinkhole stopped traffic on a busy street in Greensboro, North Carolina, revealing the city’s aging water infrastructure. City engineers say it could take several decades before most of the pipes in the Greensboro’s older neighborhoods are refurbished
Headlines
In Seattle, a main line break that sent raw sewage into Elliott Bay from the Edgewater Hotel has been temporarily fixed. The upscale hotel had been inadvertently pumping raw sewage into Puget Sound since Friday after the hotel’s main sewer line broke. A permanent fix will take about a week to finish.
The sanitary sewer district in Richmond, Indiana issued a sewer overflow alert after heavy rains in the area.
Residents of three suburban Philadelphia communities are still being urged to boil their tap water after a water main break on Saturday.
Sewer Rate News
Caledonia, Minnesota
Des Moines, Iowa
McHenry, Illinois
05.28.08
Wednesday Headlines: PG County, MD Sees Increase in Sewer Overflows
In Prince George’s County, Maryland, residents are upset that the new National Harbor (pictured right) project has made an already stressed sewer system even worse. Here’s the paragraph that caught my attention.
On April 25, the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, the anchor of National Harbor, celebrated its grand opening. On May 9, the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) dumped 968,000 gallons of raw sewage into Broad Creek. On May 11 and 12, the WSSC dumped an additional 3.76 million gallons of untreated raw sewage into Broad Creek. This was the largest sewage dump into Broad Creek in years not resulting from a power outage, and it happened less than three weeks after National Harbor opened. The only dump of comparable magnitude was a 4.6 million-gallon event in February that resulted from a power outage.
Headlines
In Winona Lake, Minnesota, some residents were warned to boil their water before drinking it after an 8-inch water main broke.
A new book examines the history and politics of Los Angeles’ sewer system.
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has ordered Johnson Utilities to post warning signs near standing water in Queen Creek Wash where the company has spilled thousands of gallons of raw sewage.
A sewage spill in Newport Beach, California has caused a portion of Newport Bay to shut down to swimming and surfing. From 1999 to 2007, there were 277 sewage spills in Orange County, 62 percent from some sort of blockage.
Sewer Rate News
Carroll County, Maryland
Fredonia, New York
Kansas City, Kansas
Mooresville, North Carolina
05.08.08
Thursday Headlines: Ga. Sewer Project Reaches Completion
Sorry for not posting yesterday. Let’s get you up to speed. Also, there is a big USA Today story that came out today that I will talk about tomorrow. Now to the news.
In Brunswick, Georgia, a sewer repair project that has reduced foot traffic for some local businesses since September is finally reaching completion.
Headlines
In North Carolina, a community fights with a sewer district over who will treat its sewage.
The city of Fountain, Minnesota talks sewer needs.
Deteriorating sewer lines in Calistoga, California have caused headaches for landlords, tenants and city officials off and on over the years, and there are signs that the situation may be worsening.
An Indianapolis Star story says, “Deteriorating pipes, overwhelmed by volumes of water they were never designed to carry, release raw sewage into rivers and streams each year. The spills make people sick and kill aquatic animals and plants.”
Sewer Rate News
New York, New York
Richfield, Ohio
Richmond, Virginia
04.29.08
Tuesday Headlines: In W.V. Collapsed Sewer Main Causes Sinkhole
In Huntington, West Virginia, a sewer main at Harris Riverfront Park collapsed, creating a large sinkhole. A 42-inch-by-30-inch sewer line that is more than 100 years old caused the sinkhole. (photo courtesy of The Herald-Dispatch)
Headlines
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has awarded 14 water quality grants totaling $3.5 million, including almost $700,000 to improve water quality in Saginaw Bay.
A blockage in a sewer line caused less than 10,000 gallons of wastewater to enter Flat Creek in Gainesville, Georgia.
Sewer Rate News
Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Glen Ellyn, Illinois
Howell, New Jersey
Quincy, California
04.24.08
Thursday Headlines: Birds Get Sick at Wastewater Treatment Pond
An investigation is under way to determine why 20 birds at wastewater treatment pondsin Ironton, Minnesota have become sick. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has taken water and sludge samples from the ponds.
Headlines
In Diamond, West Virginia, crews with West Virginia American Water work on a water main break near an elementary school.
A broken pipe sent about 50 gallons of raw sewage flowing into Fanno Creek in Southwest Portland, Oregon.
The City Council or Chelsea, Michigan is mulling funding options for a potential $11 million wastewater treatment plant expansion that, if completed, would ultimately translate into rate increases for residents.
A busy street in Valparaison, Indidana is open again, but sewer repair work is not over after a leaky manhold collapsed in March.
04.04.08
Friday Headlines: Domenici Backs Water Treatment Project
Senator Pete Domenici (R-N.M), has backed a wastewater treatment plant project in Aztec, New Mexico and is requesting $500,000 from the EPA for the $7 million project. Sen. Domenici has requested the money from the EPA’s State and Tribal Assistance Grants program. If approved, the grant would require 45 percent in non-federal matching funds.
Headlines
In Virginia, Depoe Bay’s water treatment plant will be updated with the purchase of a new programmable logical controller.
Many small communities in Minnesota have outdated sewage systemsthat need replacing. But the high cost of such a project is delaying improvements. In Minnesota the backlog of wastewater needs is $3 billion.
The health of the Chesapeake Bay is dismal and more than three decades of restoration efforts have done little to improve the condition of the nation’s largest estuary, according to two independent assessments released Thursday. The Bay has long suffered from massive unnatural influxes of nitrogen and phosphorous, largely from sewage wastewater, agricultural and urban runoff, and air pollution.
