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.
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.
11.20.08
Thursday Headlines: Editorial Addresses Infrastructure in Economic Stimulus
An editorial in today’s Arizona Daily Star addresses the need for an economic stimulus package that includes investment in infrastructure. Although the editorial focuses on the need to put people back to work by addressing the nation’s crumbling infrastructure, it does specifically address the dire state of America’s wastewater systems.
Consider, for instance, the nationwide problem of sewage overflows. Many older cities have combined sewer-stormwater systems that overflow during big storms, dumping untreated waste into rivers and drinking-water reservoirs.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, at least $202 billion is needed to prevent sewer overflows at some 16,000 wastewater treatment plants across the country. While Congress can’t invest that kind of money immediately, it could make a down payment on a health threat that grows bigger every year.
11.19.08
Wednesday Headlines: 60-inch Water Main Breaks in Central New Jersey
In New Jersey, a break in a 60-inch water main break in Middlesex and Somerset Counties is affecting 100,000 customers and has partially collapsed part of the road above the pipe. A boil-water advisory remains in effect for the nearly 20 Central Jersey towns affected, and customers will be contacted by phone when it is lifted, which is projected to be around noon Thursday. Although the cause of the break is unknown the water main was installed in 1958.
Sewer Rate News
Lansing, Michigan’s long-term endeavor to reduce the flow of raw sewage is 59 percent completed and already seeing significant results. Annually, some 1.65 billion gallons of sewage went into the rivers before the CSO work started. That has been reduced by 585 million gallons a year. The work is not slated to end until 2020.
Astoria, Oregon under a federal consent decree, has a 20-year program to prevent sewage from overflowing into the Columbia River and Youngs Bay during heavy rainstorms. The latest project is the first phase of a two-phase CSO project, which will install new pipes to carry stormwater into the bay and construct a giant storage tank for sewage.
Traffic was restricted on a major Mesa, Arizona roadway Tuesday evening after a 12-inch water main leak caused a sinkhole in the road.
Work crews in Kalamazoo, Michigan worked through the night to dig out a couple of water main breaks. There are water main breaks all the time in this city, which is an older system where fluctuating temperatures (a common occurence this time of year) makes the ground heave and pipes burst.
Sewer Rate News
McKinleyville, California
Ranson, West Virginia
Sugarcreek, Ohio
11.17.08
Monday Headlines: Water Main Break Leads to Boil Alert in Suburban DC
Although service has been restored following a water main break on Saturday in Largo, Maryland, residents remain under a boil water advisory. The break also affected traffic for fans traveling to the game last night between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins. The advisory involves homes in a 39-square-mile area in central Prince George’s County, as well as several schools and and government buildings.
Headlines
An above-ground pipe spewed at least 100,000 gallons of raw sewage Saturday in Vista, California. The sewage spilled near the on-ramp of state Route 78 on Saturday. The age of the pipe is believed to be the cause of the spill.
In Maui, Cove Park was closed on Thursday after a blockage at a wastewater pump station Thursday led to an overflow of about 1,200 gallons of untreated sewage from a manhole cover.
A water main break slowed traffic this morning on a state highway outside of Scranton, Pennsylvania in Dickson City.
Schools are closed in Beacon Falls, Connecticut today because of a water main break.
Crash investigators in Kansas City, Missouri said a water main break may have caused an accident on Interstate 35 Sunday morning. Police said water from the break froze over the highway and a car and truck slid into each other on the slippery surface.
In the ongoing situation with Jefferson County, Alabama and its sewer debt, a federal judge will hold a hearing Monday morning to determine whether bond insurers are entitled to have Jefferson County’s troubled sewer system placed under the control of a receiver who can manage the sewer system. The county is in danger of defaulting on it $3.2 billion sewer debt.
Sewer Rate News
Burlington, New Jersey
Williams, Oregon
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
10.14.08
Tuesday Headlines: As Funding Decreases Tennessee’s Needs Grow
There is a growing gap between badly needed improvements to Tennessee’s water and wastewater infrastructure and the funding to complete those projects, according to a recent study conducted by the Tennessee Infrastructure Alliance.
According to the Tennessee Advisory Committee on Intergovernmental Relations, the cost of 1,773 needed water system improvement projects increased by $349 million between 2004 and 2005 to a total of $3.3 billion. The report also points out, available funding for such projects is dropping. State revolving funds have dropped by 33 percent between 2004 and 2006 and federal funding has dropped by nearly 79 percent since 1980.
Headlines
Some Jersey City residents are advised to boil their water after a break in a 30-inch water main early Tuesday morning. Residents in the affected area can expect lower than normal water pressure or even no water in high rise buildings. Repairs are expected to take most of the day.
A water main break in Robbins, Illinois forced three schools to close Tuesday morning. Robbins police say the water main erupted Monday night. They expect to have water restored Tuesday afternoon.
It is unclear if a Rite Aid in Yakima, Washington will reopen today after a water main ruptured twice outside the store on Monday. Officials noted that between 25,000 and 30,000 gallons of water was lost during the first break.
A broken water main under Grand Avenue in Wausau, Wisconsin forced the closure of the northbound lane this morning.
Sewer Rate News
Ambridge, Pennsylvania
DuBois, Pennsylvania
Oakwood, Illinois
Prichard, Alabama
Woodstock, Ohio
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
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
10.01.08
Wednesday Headlines: In Arkansas, Election to Decide Water Bond Program
Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe said he expects voters to approve a $300 million bond issue for water projects in November, provided they understand it will not raise their taxes. The measure would extend a $300 billion bond program approved by voters 10 years ago, and would renew bonding authority for the state’s grant and loan program for water, sewer and waste disposal projects.
Headlines
A water main break today in downtown Norwich, Connecticut has closed Courthouse Square to all vehicular traffic. It is believed that it will take anywhere from four to eight hours to complete repairs. Also, the basements of two businesses sustained water damaged and were pumped out.
Crews in Lawrence, Kansas worked yesterday to fix an 8-inch water main that broke Tuesday morning. Repairs to the waterline were completed yesterday with patching of the road stretching into today.
An 8-inch water main also broke yesterday in Bernards Township, New Jersey leaving 250 residents on 18 streets without water. Residents have been told to boil their tap water for five minutes before drinking it.
After years of talk, the City Council in West Liberty, Iowa has finally agreed to move forward on the expansion of its wastewater treatment facility.
Sewer Rate News
Delta, Missouri
Waurika, Oklahoma
