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
07.08.09
Wednesday’s Water News: Rainfall Causes Record Beach Closures in Massachusetts
The state of Massachusetts has had a record number of beach closures so far this season, mainly due to high bacteria levels caused by heavy rainfall. According to the state’s Department of Public Health there have been 188 closures of the state’s roughly 1,100 bathing beaches.
Headlines
Whitestown, New York contractor crews will be testing sewer lines this week for the engineering study for the Oneida County Sewer District’s overflow abatement project. The test locates leaks, faulty connections and broken pipelines in the system which will prevent overflows.
Some good news out of Orange County, California that for the sixth year in a row sewage spills have dropped. This is part of a continuing trend toward cleaner beaches the sewage spill rate has been at its lowest since 2000.
Stimulus Spotlight
The Texas Water Development Board has been awarded $160 million worth of stimulus funds to help finance the cost of replacing water infrastructures in the state. EPA officials say the funds will go to invest in several overdue water projects that are essential to protecting public heath and the environment.
Two Utah Indian tribes are getting pieces of the $90 million in stimulus money targeted at helping to upgrade water quality and create jobs for tribal communities nationwide.
Sewer Rate News
Hamilton, Iowa
Herber Springs, Arkansas
Kansas City, Missouri
New Albany, Indiana
07.07.09
Tuesday’s Water News: Main Break Stops Essential Water Use in South Austin (Tx.)
Residents of Austin, Texas were told to stop all essential water use, including outdoor watering, this morning as crews began repairing a 54-inch water main. The water line provides the city with 60% of the drinking water for residents and businesses south of the river and is one of the city’s main water arteries.
Headlines
A pipe burst in a building near Shepard Park Beach in New York caused 10,000 gallons of raw sewage to dump into the Adirondack Lake over the holiday weekend. The Lake George beach was forced to close on one of the busiest weekends for the area. Clean up of the beach is scheduled to begin Tuesday and the beach will be reopened as soon as possible.
The New Jersey Local Finance Board is considering a borough of Buena’s Municipal Utilities Authority project which is a federally financed project that will take 12-15 months to complete. The project has two impacts on the MUA. First, the new system will send treated wastewater into lagoons, where it will percolate into the ground. Wastewater presently is sent into a stream. Second, the authority’s capacity to treat wastewater will increase from 400,000 gallons to 600,000 gallons, enabling more service for residential and commercial uses. That also benefits neighboring Buena Vista Township, which has the right to use one-third of the increase in treatment capacity.
Stimulus Spotlight
Delaware state lawmakers and public officials accepted $19.2 million in federal money to clean up water. Governor Jack Markell said the money will allow the state to employ citizens in “green jobs.”
Sewer Rate News
Laramie, Wyoming
Mount Airy, North Carolina
Middlesex, Massachusetts
07.02.09
Thursday’s Water News: Water Main Break Floods University in St. Louis
A water main break caused the flooding on the campus of Harris-Stowe University in St. Louis, including flooding in the school library. The campus was shut down after being enveloped in 4-5 feet of water.
Headlines
A colony of prehistoric creatures has taken over the concrete pipes below Raleigh North Carolina’s Cameron Village. Living in a 6-inch sewer main, the clusters of organisms feed through tentacles on whatever floats past.
The Town of Merryville, Louisiana is the recipient of a $1 million grant by the Clean Water State Revolving Fund program. Mayor Charles Hudson said the money will be used to upgrade the town’s aging sewer plant.
Three wastewater utility companies in Louisiana have been fined a total of $374,470 for federal environmental regulations. The companies are all owned by Jeff Pruett who faces 17 counts of federal charges for his companies.
Stimulus Spotlight
California will be getting $132 million in federal economic stimulus funds for water recycling projects. The money will be shared by 26 different projects including two in San Diego County.
The state of New York distributed $11 million in stimulus funding to go towards 17 projects and create an estimated 435 jobs. The projects will work to update the State’s aging infrastructure.
Sewer Rate News
Plainwell, Michigan
We’ll be back on Monday, July 6. Have a great 4th of July weekend.
06.15.09
Monday’s Water News: Water Main Break Floods Bronx Streets
A water main break transformed four blocks of the Bronx, New York into a swimming pool early Sunday morning, flooding streets, cars and causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage.
Headlines
Last week’s heavy rains caused sewage spills in several Dallas-area cities. The largest spill by far was in Fort Worth, where 1.1 million gallons spilled.
A water main break caused water to spill into a home in West Valley, Utah over the weekend causing muddy water to gush up through a crack in the sidewalk and pour into the home.
Several business, an apartment building and a hotel in San Diego were without water Saturday when a nearby 16-inch water main broke. Twelve hours after the problem was first reported, the hotel’s manager said they still did not have water.
Stimulus Spotlight
The Dayton, Ohio area is getting additional stimulus dollars to improve drinking water quality and fund water pollution control projects. Ohio EPA has added three Montgomery County projects to its revised fundable list for economic stimulus projects.
Sewer Rate News
Grand Ledge, Michigan
Riverdale, Utah
Stillwater, Oklahoma
06.12.09
Friday’s Water News: Sausalito/Marin City Fined for February Sewage Spills
The Sausalito-Marin City Sanitary District (Calif.) faces $332,000 in fines for three spills of more than 775,000 gallons of sewage that occurred in February when partially treated wastewater gushed into Richardson Bay after an underwater pipe at one of the district’s wastewater treatment plants burst.
Headlines
An equipment failure at a Barnstable, Massachusetts pumping station has caused several beaches around Lewis Bay to be closed until further notice.
Scott Township, Pennsylvania has secured a $2.5 million grant from the USDA–in addition the $15 million loan the agency had already allocated–for its long-awaited sewer project.
Stimulus Spotlight
On Long Island, the economic stimulus bill will pay $13.2 million to bring sewer service to 63 Locust Valley homes with failing septic systems, and an additional $10.4 million to build a sewer plant for a Brookhaven industrial park sited in a special groundwater protection area.
Ironton, Ohio’s persistence has netted the city federal stimulus money for its aging sewer system. Following an April 23 setback that shut out Ironton from receiving a portion of $278 million the Ohio EPA allocated for water and sewer rehabilitation, the state agency reconsidered this week and earmarked $5 million towards the city’s sanitary and overflow sewer separation facilities.
Sewer Rate News
Middlebury, Connecticut
Springfield, Massachusetts
Wellsley, Massachusetts
06.10.09
Wednesday’s Water News: Charlotte Water Main Break Causes Sinkhole, Closes Road
Work crews in Charlotte, North Carolina are working to fix a sinkhole after a water pipe burst on Tuesday creating the hole. The sinkhole was discovered when a driver stopped at the intersection thought she had a flat tire only to realize her front tire was in the sinkhole. The road remains closed to traffic.
Headlines
A water main break in Evansville, Indiana shut down a road on the city’s west side, causing water to gush onto the street and disrupting services to several neighboring homes.
In Saginaw, Michigan, more than 9 million gallons of partially treated sewage was discharged to the Saginaw River last week from a combined sewer overflow.
A 12-inch water main break in a Staten Island neighborhood left 100 residents and 30 businesses without water this morning.
Stimulus Spotlight
Camden, New Jersey will receive $13.5 million from the economic stimulus package to repair its water and sewer system. The city’s public works director says Camden could use $50 million for water and sewer upgrades but there’s no money to repay traditional loans in order to complete that work.
The California water districts of Coachella Valley and Mission Springs have received word that $1.3 million will be available to them to fund drinking water projects.
Sewer Rate News
East Dundee, Illinois
Huntington, West Virginia
Newburgh, Indiana
06.09.09
Tuesday’s Water News: Columbus, Ohio to Receive Stimulus Money for Sewers
Columbus, Ohio may receive up to $5 million in federal stimulus funds — money that local officials didn’t expect — to help clean up sewer problems. The money will help extend a sewer line along the city’s South Side and fix two sewer lines Downtown.
The city is working under a court-ordered settlement with the Ohio EPA to end such overflows. The estimated $2.5 billion cost to complete the work could triple homeowners’ water bills over the next 40 years.
Headlines
On July 6, crews will begin testing equipment at a $14.2 million Combined Sewer Overflow Station in Chicopee (MA) for the preparation of its opening later that month.
A sewage water overflow has prompted clean-up efforts in Florence County (SC) after an estimated 18,000 gallons of sewage made its way from the pump station to the Middle Swamp.
Stimulus Spotlight
In Indiana, Richmond Sanitary District officials will tackle the first of several court-mandated sewer projects with federal stimulus money. The district recently accepted a bid of $1.741 million for the project.
Missouri will get nearly $8 million in stimulus funding for rural development. The stimulus funding is provided for safe drinking water and improved wastewater treatment systems for rural towns and communities.
Sewer Rate News
Newark, DE
Funkstown, MD
Fredonia, NY
Elsinore Valley, CA
06.08.09
Monday’s Water News: Water Main Break Disrupts Service to Half of City in Vermont
Public works crews in Barre, Vermont continue emergency repairs on a water main break that has left thousands without water. A dispatcher in the city’s emergency services center estimated more than half the city was without water.
Headlines
People in Georgetown, Minnesota were without water most of Monday after a water main break forced the town to shut off its water.
Concerns over raw sewage in the water closed the beach at Coney Island and Manhattan Beach in Brooklyn on Saturday.
Stimulus Spotlight
Several Illinois communities will receive over $10 million in total for water projects funded from the economic stimulus package.
In South Dakota, the Fall River Water Users District has received $612,000 in federal stimulus money toward completing its pipeline to the Buffalo Gap area that will provide water to over 70 customers in the water district.
Sewer Rate News
Elkton, Virginia
Orange County, North Carolina
Prescott Valley, Arizona
06.05.09
Friday’s Water News: Millbrae, Calif. to Replace Wastewater Treatment Plant
In California, the city of Millbrae and its over 50-year-old wastewater treatment plant will get a much needed makeover after the city inked a $34 million contract with the California Water Resources Control Board to use state revolving fund financing for the project.
Headlines
In Fort Myers Beach, Florida, a water main break closed down San Carlos Boulevard. The main break this morning flooded the road and forced water to be shut down in about 80 homes.
Raw sewage has flowed into Overton creek (TX) for the 3rd time in four years. On a piece of land more than 400 feet long by 75 feet wide raw sewage sits about eight inches deep.
Water is overflowing in High Point, North Carolina after a major break in a water main has closed the south and north bound lanes of state Highway 311.
Stimulus Spotlight
Rockford, Illinois will be using $7 million in federal economic stimulus funds to complete “some badly needed” water infrastructure projects
$130 million will be awarded to 22 communities throughout New York for the construction of water treatment plants and the installation of sewer system upgrades. The projects are estimated to create 1,300 jobs across the state in many areas that have been affected severely by the current recession.
Sewer Rate News
Ogden, Utah
Rockford, Michigan
Wellesley, Massachusetts
Worcester, Massachusetts
