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
06.18.09
Thursday’s Water News: Same Main Breaks Again in Helena, Montana
Thousands of gallons of water gushed through the pavement of Ninth Avenue in Helena, Montana on Thursday afternoon after the same water pipe broke for the second time in nine days. Most water mains in the area of the break are more than 50 years old.
Headlines
City employees in Bradenton, Florida have closed the Palma Sola Causeway after about 1,000 gallons of sewage leaked into the water and ground area due to a force main break. Workers used lime to disinfect the area where the spill happened, however it will take several days to dilute the sewage in the water.
An overflow of sewage into the East Fork of the Whitewater River in Richmond, Indiana has been caused by recent rainfall. Residents have been advised to avoid all contact with the river water of this area for at least 72 hours.
The $14 million expansion project on the new Reedsport, Oregon wastewater treatment facility is right on track according to officials. The project came about after the Department of Environmental Quality requested that the plant be expanded.
Stimulus Spotlight
$123 million in water and environmental projects has been pledged by the USDA for South Dakota through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, including $3.68 million for the Aurora Brule Rural Water System.
Sewer Rate News
Washington, DC
Melrose, Massachusetts
Eagle Lake, Florida
Tampa, Florida
04.16.09
Thursday Headlines: Two Montana Projects Receive Help fron Bureau of Reclamation
Two major water projects in northcentral and northeastern Montana will receive $60 million in funding from the Bureau of Reclamation–as part of the federal stimulus package–to build water treatment plants and lay pipeline to deliver water to more rural communities.
Headlines
The small town of Churubusco, Indiana will receive a grant of $1.3 million from the recently passed economic stimulus bill to begin improvements of its drinking water system.
According to an annual report just released by the city of Columbus, Ohio, it paid the state EPA a total of $270,500 for 562 overflows and leaks from its sanitary sewers last year. Columbus plans to spend $2.5 billion over 40 years to expand its sewer capacity and upgrade aging lines.
A San Diego intersection was closed during the Thursday morning rush hour as crews repair two major water main breaks in the area. About 120 customers were affected by the break.
Businesses in El Sobrante, California used sandbags and towels to stem the tide of water into their storefronts after a water main break Wednesday afternoon sent water gushing down the street and causing some flooding.
Sewer Rate News
Crown Point, Indiana
Richfield, Ohio
San Andreas, California
Sausalito, California
03.13.09
Friday Headlines: Omnibus Bill to Benefit Water, Sewer Projects
Water and sewer projects in Allegany County, Maryland will benefit from $12.2 million included in the federal 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act signed into law on Wednesday.
The bill includes funding for the following water and sewer projects:
• $300,000 to design and construct nutrient removal facilities at the Georges Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant.
• $300,000 to construct separate storm water and sewer lines in Cumberland.
• $300,000 to construct separate storm water and sewer lines in Frostburg.
• $300,000 to replace two drinking water transmission lines in Hagerstown.
Headlines
The sewer board in New Albany, Indiana has taken action to start construction started for sewer improvements . Construction for phases two and three of the project will cost a little more than $1.1 million.
Between 20 and 25 homes were without water yesterdayin Andover, Massachusetts after an underground water main break. Several major water main breaks have occurred in town in the last six months.
The city of Laurel, Montana has been approved for a $690,000 low-interest loan to finance improvements to its water treatment system. The city’s treatment system dates to the 1950s, and several components need to be replaced or rebuilt.
Sewer Rate News
Anderson. Indiana
Morristown, Indiana
Tuxedo and Warwick, New York
02.17.09
Tuesday Headlines: Stimulus a Down Payment on State Infrastructure Needs
Throughout the state of Montana, approximately 100 water and wastewater projects are in need of money to begin construction. Even as the stimulus bill is signed into law many of Montana’s small towns see the economic stimulus bill as just a start in addressing it’s infrastructure needs. Much of the state’s water infrastructure was built in the 1950s and ’60s and now needs to be replaced.
Headlines
In Bay City, Michigan, a sewer overflow last week from a wastewater treatment plant totaled almost 58 million gallons. The discharge was blamed on snow melt and rain that totaled about 1.3 inches.
A blocked sewer line is to blame for the release of raw sewage into the Cayucos Creek. A officer for San Luis Obispo County, California reports a manhole cover overflowed and dumped an unknown amount of sewage into a nearby storm drain.
Some residents in Brewer, Maine did not have water when they woke up this morning due to a massive break in the water main in the area. The 10-inch water main was mangled by the fluctuating recent temperatures.
Fifteen months after the Lisbon, Ohio’s upgraded water treatment plant began operation, the Ohio EPA has lifted the order that required the improvements as the treatment plant is now in compliance with the state’s clean drinking water laws.
Sewer Rate News
Halifax, Virginia
Inman, South Carolina
12.16.08
Tuesday Headlines: Greenwich Pumping Sewage into River After Main Break
Friday’s sewer line break in Greenwich, Connecticut is forcing the town to dump raw sewage into the Mianus River at three points. The temporary fix was still ongoing Monday night, pumping sewage into the Mianus River over four days with no clear end in sight.
Headlines
A water main break outside of Akron General Medical Center caused some inconveniences Tuesday morning and created a sinkhole in the walkway outside of the facility that is six feet deep. The age of the pipe (58-year old) combined with the extreme and rapid drop in temperature since Monday are believed to have caused the break.
A force main leak in Florence, South Carolina caused about 125,000 gallons of sewage to flow into a creek. City crews are disinfecting the area with lime and are having water samples analyzed to ensure the overflow poses no threat to public health or the environment.
Gainesville, Georgia has agreed to pay $3,750 to the state Environmental Protection Division for a sewage spill that occurred July 22 when an estimated 50,000 gallons of sewage flowed into Balus Creek. The city typically has several spills each year and pays fines ranging from about $100 to more than $1,000 for each incident.
The cold weather has been blamed for at least one water main break that occurred late Sunday night in Bozeman, Montana, and has impacted several local businesses as well as about a dozen homes and residencies.
Sewer Rate News
Danville, Illinois
Darien, Wisconsin
Waterford, Connecticut
12.01.08
Monday Headlines: City of San Francisco Begins Payouts for Sewage Damage
Nearly five years after San Francisco experienced a storm that overwhelmed its aging sewer system, the city is beginning to pay out millions of dollars in settlements to businesses and homeowners. Businesses affected by the overflow will receive $612,000 from the city of San Francisco. The businesses were inundated by raw sewage in 2004, when stormwater caused it to overflow.
The story from the The San Francisco Examiner goes into further detail.
More than 1,000 miles of brick sewers, many built more than a century ago, carry flushed waste from bathrooms and sinks beneath the surface to treatment plants. The sewers also fill with stormwater during rainstorms, which can overwhelm the system and cause it to overflow.
A San Francisco Superior Court judge ruled earlier this year that The City is liable for property damage caused by the toxic sewage that brimmed out of the combined system in 2004.
10.22.08
Wednesday Headlines: Illinois City Works on Wastewater Plant Plans
The wastewater treatment facilities in South Beloit, Illinois are working beyond their intended capacities and commissioners say a new plant is a necessity. The system was designed to handle 3 million gallons but is currently processing 3.5 million gallons a day. This summer, the city ran more than 8 million gallons per day as the Rock River waters rose and ground levels increased because of land saturation.
Headlines
A water main break in Fenton, Michigan Saturday afternoon caused some flooding and the loss of nearly a million gallons of water. The city lost between 800,000 and 900,000 gallons of water before the main could be shut down.
The water is back on in downtown San Luis Obispo, California after city employees worked tirelessly to fix a water main break. A surge in the system caused a main to rupture and led to ruptures on several other adjacent streets.
Officials in Cape Charles, Virginia are simultaneously pursuing solutions to growing water and wastewater needs to meet future demand and a state-imposed deadline for a new treatment plant that lessens the impact to the Chesapeake Bay.
Representatives of rural water systems including a regional water project for north-central Montana stopped in the city of Havre to tell local elected officials and state legislative candidates about the need to increase funding for those projects.
Sewer Rate News
Missoula, Montana
Wenatchee, Washington
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
09.11.08
Thursday Headlines: San Diego Counties Fined $1 Million for Sewage Spill
Two San Diego County cities have been fined more than $1 million for last year’s 7.3 million-gallon sewage spill into Buena Vista Lagoon. Some 1,700 fish were killed when the 25-year-old sewer pipe ruptured. Vista will pay $981,000 because the city owns most of the pipe, Carlsbad will pay the rest.
Headlines
The Washington Post’s “Capital Weather Blog” notes that in many Washington, D.C. neighborhoods it takes only one tenth of an inch of rain to cause a combined sewer overflow. Ann Posegate notes, “a storm can be so exciting until you think of its human and environmental consequences.”
A Belvedere, California neighborhood was flooded Wednesday night when about 30,000 gallons of water escaped from a broken water main. One house was flooded and four garages sustained water damage.
A water main break in Boonton, New Jersey yesterday led authorities to issue a boil-water alert for residents west of the town’s railroad tracks.
In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, most of the downtown area was without air conditioning and functional plumbing after a water main burst at the bottom of the New River .
Sewer Rate News
Choteau, Montana
Marana, Arizona
New Summerfield, Texas
