06.30.09
Tuesday’s Water News: GAO Releases Study on Clean Water Trust Fund
Yesterday, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a study titled Clean Water Infrastructure: A Variety of Issues Need to be Considered When Designing a Clean Water Trust Fund.
GAO was asked to (1) obtain stakeholders’ views on the issues that would need to be addressed in designing and establishing a clean water trust fund and (2) identify and describe potential options that could generate about $10 billion in revenue to support a clean water trust fund.
In designing and establishing a clean water trust fund, stakeholders identified three main issues that would need to be addressed: (1) how a trust fund should be administered and used; 2) what type of financial assistance should be provided; and 3) what activities should be eligible to receive funding from a trust fund. Click here for for a summary of the study.
Headlines
On Thursday of last week, the Senate Appropriations Committe approved $2.1 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), $1.39 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) and $150 million for targeted water and sewer projects as part of the FY 2010 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations bill. And on Friday, before the Independence Day District Work Period, the House of Representatives passed the FY 2010 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations bill by a vote of 254-173, which includes $2.3 billion for the CWSRF, $1.44 billion for the DWSRF and $160 million for targeted water and sewer projects.
A water main break in Oklahoma City poored thousands of gallons of water onto the streets and into the buildings near downtown including a church charity. The water flowed unabated outside causing a sinkhole, which nearly swallowed the charity’s minivan.
Stimulus Spotlight
The city of Valdosta, Georgia is receiving $10 million in federal economic stimulus funds as part of an expansion of a wastewater treatment plant.
Sewer Rate News
Dyersburg, Tennessee
Holly, Michigan
Warren County, Ohio
06.23.09
Tuesday’s Water News: Senate Appropriations Subcommitte Approves Infrastructure Funding
The Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee unanimously approved legislation this morning that would cut environmental agencies’ spending by $200 million from what the House appropriations approved. The measure includes $3.6 for water and waster infrastructure.
Headlines
Beaches that have been closed in Greenwich, Connecticut due to heavy rainfall and sewage overflows have now been reopened. Byram Beach still remains closed to swimmers, however, because the rainfall in the shallow cove caused more concern.
A plugged valve caused an estimated 10,000 gallons of sewage to spill into a creek in Grass Valley, California. Valley officials are investigating why an alarm system didn’t sound when it happened. Signs have been posted warning people of the bacteria within the creek and contact with the water should be avoided.
Stimulus Spotlight
The Utah Water Quality Board meets Wednesday to consider requests involving the Ogdan River Restoration Project and 12 other similar projects around the state. The Ogdan River could be restored to a natural wider river channel that could accommodate higher flows, and reduce urban encroachment for $7.25 million. Ogden officials are hoping up to $4 million will come from federal stimulus money.
Sewer Rate News
Detroit, Michigan
Monroe, Pennsylvania
Spokane County, Washington
05.14.09
Thursday’s Water News: EPW Passes SRF Authorization
The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works today passed the Water Infrastructure Financing Act (S. 1005) which would authorize $20 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and $14.7 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund over the next five years. The legislation also includes $1.8 billion included for sewer overflow control grants and $1.43 billion in grants for critical drinking water infrastructure projects.
A similar bill, H.R. 1262, passed the House in March but only authorizes funding for the Clean Water SRF and not the Drinking Water SRF. The legislation must now be voted on by the full Senate and pass before going to conference. The Clean Water SRF and Drinking Water SRF have not been reauthorized in 22 years and 13 years, respectively.
Headlines
In Kentucky, about 20,000 Louisville Water Company customers have been put under a boil-water advisory after a 60-inch main broke Wednesday morning.
In Pittsburgh, a break yesterday in a 8-inch water main caused an 18-inch sewer to collapse causing a 25 feet wide and 15 feet deep in the middle of the road.
Stimulus Spotlight
The town of Boones Mill, Virginia will receive $3.3 million in stimulus money from the state’s Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund which will fund a new filtration plant, electric water meters and replacement of waterlines.
Sewer Rate News
Agawam, Massachusetts
Joplin, Missouri
05.06.09
Wednesday Headlines: Fort Wayne Rates May Double to Fund Sewer Projects
Under a funding proposal from Fort Wayne, Indiana’s Utilities Department, monthly sewer rates would nearly double in the next five years to construct the array of projects mandated to reduce combined-sewer overflows under the city’s consent decree with the EPA.
Headlines
Sewers are among the most popular projects among mayors for stimulus money. Of more than 18,000 projects on a wish-list compiled from more than 700 communities by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, more than 4,000 involved water or wastewater repairs or construction — second only to road projects.
Coquille, Oregon issued a notice Monday that 10,000 gallons of raw sewage mixed rainwater spilled into the Coquille River on Friday night and into Saturday after 0.45 inches of rain fell sending a surge of stormwater into the Coquille Waste Water Plant.
Stimulus Spotlight
In Kentucky, $4 million in federal stimulus money will help cover the cost of a $20.5 million project to increase the water supply to a fast-growing area in eastern Jefferson County. According to estimates, the project will create more than 160 construction jobs.
Work has started on a $30 million upgrade of Arlington, Washington’s wastewater treatment plant, the first project in Snohomish County to be paid for in part by federal stimulus money.
Sewer Rate News
Columbus, Indiana
Goodlettsville, Tennessee
Statesboro, Georgia
Warren, Ohio
04.23.09
Thursday Headlines: Senate Bill Introduced to Correct Sewer Overflows
Ohio Senators George Voinovich and Sherrod Brown introduced a bill, the Clean Water Affordability Act of 2009, on Wednesday that would give the EPA more flexibility in dealing with communities with sewer overflow problems and would create a $1.8 billion program over five years to provide federal grants up to 75 percent of a sewer project’s cost. A similar provision in the Water Quality Investment Act (H.R. 1262) passed by the House of Representatives in March includes $2.5 billion in grants over five years for sewer overflow control grants.
Headlines
In Kansas, a project to improve the city of Emporia’s water treatment plant is one of 39 drinking water infrastructure projects in the state selected to receive $360,000 in stimulus help. The money will pay for 20 percent of a $1.8 million project that has been on the city’s capital improvement plan for some time.
A valve malfunction led to a spill of about17,500 gallons of untreated sewage into the Pearl City area of Honolulu. City crews repaired the valve and were able to collect 105,000 gallons of sewage and transfer it back into the treatment system before it entered the harbor.
A large project in Dunwoody, Georgia that will double the size of a waterline bringing raw water from the Chattahoochee River to the reservoirs at a water treatment plant is slowly moving forward.
Sewer Rate News
Chouteau, Oklahoma
Johnstown, Pennsylvania
West Cape May, New Jersey
04.17.09
Friday Headlines: NYT Documents Deteriorationg Water Infrastructure
The New York Times has a story today on how it is becoming more difficult for municipalities across the country to ignore their aging water infrastructure as the pipes break at an increasing frequency. Here is the most relevant from the quote the story.
The new federal stimulus law provides $6 billion for water projects, with $2 billion of that directed to drinking water systems. But that money is only, well, a drop in the bucket: a report released last month by the E.P.A. estimated that the nation’s drinking water systems require an investment of $334.8 billion over the next two decades, with most of the money needed to improve transmission and distribution systems.
Headlines
$56.5 million in federal stimulus money from the Bureau of Reclamation will be used to build the second phase of the Lewis & Clark water treatment plant near Vermillion, South Dakota.
The state of Michigan is receiving $236 million under the economic stimulus plan to upgrade municipal water and sewer systems as part of a long-range effort to restore the Great Lakes.
A break in an old water main on South Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach, Florida is causing traffic detours this afternoon as crews complete repairs.
About one million gallons of water burst through the a broken water main drowning out an estimated $50,000 of lunch business across Estero Island in Southwest Florida.
Sewer Rate News
Alamosa, Colorado
Clarksdale, Arizona
Salisbury, Maryland
Sedona, Arizona
03.17.09
Tuesday Headlines: World Bank Cites Lack of Water Infrastructure Investment in Economic Stimulus
Today at the World Water Forum in Istanbul, the director of energy, transport and water at the World Bank, said that there was not enough money for water investment in the stimulus packages of the United States and other countries fighting the economic downturn. The United Nation estimates the total cost of replacing aging water and wastewater infrastructure in industrial countries could be as high as $200 billion per year.
Headlines
Discontent with the water service it receives from Cleveland, Ohio, the cities of North Olmsted and Westlake are thinking of buying their water from a Lorain County source. North Olmsted has requested $36 million in federal stimulus money to build the system.
In Queens, New York, the borough’s failing sewer system may receive some much needed upgrades courtesy of the recently passed economic stimulus bill. Queens has experienced major sewer overflow problems the last two summers.
Lanes were blocked on two roads northeast of downtown Atlanta near I-85 early this morning after a pair of water main breaks.
A major water main break in Lexington, Kentucky on Monday afternoon, caused part of a road to buckle closing both inbound and outbound lanes. The road can only be repaired after the break is fixed before traffic can be reopened.
Sewer Rate News
Burlingame, California
Macomb, Illinois
Paulding, Ohio
Richmond, Indiana
03.12.09
Thursday Headlines: House Passes Bill Authorizing $13.8 Billion for CWSRF
Today the House of Representatives passed the Water Quality Investment Act (H.R. 1262) by a vote of 317-101. The bill authorizes $13.8 billion over the next five years for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), includes $2.5 billion over five years for sewer overflow control grants and requires sewage treatment plants to set up alert systems to notify the public within 24 hours of sewer overflows. Despite the good news, The bill still must be considered by the Senate and Congress has not passed an authorization for the CWSRF since 1994.
Headlines
The state of Michigan will use the $236 million for water and sewer infrastructure improvements it receives from the recently passed economic stimulus bill to reduce the cost of projects for municipalities. The cost of sewer projects will be reduced by 23% and the cost of water projects will be reduced by almost 40%.
A $1 million low-interest loan from Ohio EPA’s Water Pollution Control Loan Fund will help the city of Toledo finance construction to eliminate sanitary sewer overflows and basement backups.
Part of Narragansett Bay is now clean enough for swimming and shellfishing after Providence, Rhode Island fixed it’s combined sewer overflow problem by cutting a five-mile tunnel into the rock under the city capable of holding 60 million gallons of wastewater that otherwise would be released into the Providence River partially treated.
Among the earmarks in the federal spending bill President Barack Obama signed Wednesday were about $1.5 million for upgrades to Lynchburg’s sewer system. The money will go for upgrades to its combined sewer system.
Sewer Rate News
Caroline County, Virginia
San Francisco, California
Santa Maria, California
Toms River, New Jersey
03.10.09
Tuesday Headlines: House to Consider SRF Bill This Week
The House of Representatives is expected to consider a bill this week that among other things would authorize $13.8 billion for the EPA’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF). In addition, the Water Quality Investment Act (H.R. 1262) would provide more than $3 billion for water pollution and sewage control and other EPA water projects, and require sewage treatment plants to set up alert systems to notify the public within 24 hours of sewer overflows.
Some House Republicans have opposed the bill because of language that would require contractors to pay union-scale wages for work financed by the SRF. An amendment stripping the requirement, known as the Davis-Bacon Act, is expected to be part of the floor debate in the House. An amendment to strip Davis-Bacon requirements from a SRF authorization bill two years ago was rejected, 140-280, with 50 Republicans voting against it.
02.26.09
Thursday Headlines: Obama Wants More Funding for Water Infrastructure
States would receive more federal dollars for drinking water and sewer systems under the budget President Obama proposed today. The President’s Fiscal Year 2010 budget would provide $3.9 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund. The White House expects the increased investment to fund over 1,000 clean water projects and nearly 700 drinking water projects annually.
Headlines
New Mexico is set to receive nearly $40 million in federal stimulus money to improve water quality, drinking water infrastructure and sewage treatment systems. State officials agree however that the stimulus money will only begin to address the its need for water system improvements.
In Michigan, more than 100 million gallons of sewage flowed to the Saginaw River earlier this month after an overflow from the Saginaw Wastewater Treatment Plant. For 2009, has had combined sewer overflows totaling 112,000 gallons.
A water main break is causing problems for business owners in Charleston, West Virginia this morning. Some business owners affected by the break have report water entering their buildings.
In Milwaukee, traffic on the Locust Street bridge was reduced in both directions after a 21-inch combined sewer pipe collapsed opening up a huge sinkhole.
Sewer Rate News
Charlottesville, Virginia
Saratoga Springs, New York
