12.03.08
Wednesday Headlines: Two Million Gallon Sewage Spill in Delaware
A two million gallon sewage spill in Delaware has closed the Mispillion River from Milford to the Delaware Bay. A major sewer line along state Route 1 north of Milford broke, causing the discharge. The State Water Resources Director county sewage system managers had no choice but to divert sewage into the river. Two food processing plants halted production to help curb the discharge.
Headlines
As part of a pilot program aimed at reducing sewer blockages and overflows and accidental spills, the Raleigh suburb of Cary, North Carolina is encouraging residents to save their cooking oils, fats and grease in sealable containers. According to the town, such refuse contributed to 16 sewer overflows in 2006 and six overflows in 2007.
A water main break this morning flooded an intersection in southeast Rochester, New York. City crews are working in the area today, and dug a large hole to work on the water main.
Two northbound lanes of 50th Street in Tampa, Florida are closed while the city’s Water Department repairs a broken 24-inch water main. Restoration of the road surface is expected to be completed by the end of the week.
A local fitness facility in Norton Shores, Michigan may reopen today after being closed due to a water main break.
Sewer Rate News
Carlsbad, California
Frisco, Texas
Marietta, Ohio
Muncie, Indiana
11.24.08
Monday Headlines: Chesapeake Bay Cleanup to Cost Pennsylvania $1.4 Bil.
Upgrading sewer treatment systems to meet Chesapeake Bay cleanup mandates will cost Pennsylvania municipalities an estimated $1.4 billion, according to a new state legislative study. The study by the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee was authorized by the state Senate to find out how much the Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy will cost to implement.
Headlines
Warning signs were posted Sunday after thousands of gallons of sewage spilled out of manholes in several areas across Honolulu. This weekend’s heavy rains are being blamed for the overflows.
Havelock, North Carolina experienced a spill of untreated wastewater of estimated 60,000 gallons today, an estimated 10,000 of which reached State waters.
About 600 gallons of raw sewage spilled Friday onto a seaside road about a quarter-mile south of Hobson County Park in Ventura, California.
A home in Lancaster, Kentucky may be a total loss after a sewage backup ruined the basement and part of the front lawn. A sewer pipe that serves about 40 homes in the area had blockage in it caused by rags that may have been caught in a crack in the pipe.
A water main break in Waynesboro, Virginia created a small sinkhole and forced an elementary school to shut down Monday.
Sewer Rate News
Benton Harbor, Michigan
Delaware, Ohio
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
11.13.08
Thursday Headlines: State of Michigan Forces City to Upgrade Sewer System
The city of Marysville, Michigan is poised to spend about $25 million to correct problems with its water and sewer systems. The plan would increase the capacity at the wastewater treatment plant from 2.4 million gallons a day to 3.4 million gallons a day, build an underground sanitary-sewer storage tank to reduce overflows, rehabilitate aging or damaged sewer lines and make general improvements to the water and wastewater treatment plants.
Headlines
A water main break in New Orleans has collapsed a large section of a woman’s front yard, including parts of her driveway, sidewalk and flower bed.
Nether Providence, Pennsylvania has provided the state Department of Environmental Protection with a detailed response on a sizable overflow that occurred in mid-September. The correspondence includes a plan by the township to prevent future incidents, which would spend more than $330,000 on an assortment of initiatives, including equipment purchases, repairs and monitoring programs.
A combination of recent rains and a plugged sewer line caused a sewage spill in Davenport, Iowa late Tuesday and early Wednesday.
A recent engineering analysis has revealed that a 250-foot section of century-old ceramic sewer pipe owned by the City of Barre Town, Vermont, and located more than a mile from a proposed residential development, will have to be replaced in order to handle the wastewater generated by more than five dozen new single-family homes.
Sewer Rate News
Camp Hill, Pennsylvania
Memphis, Missouri
Portage County, Ohio
11.12.08
Wednesday Headlines: Columbus Residents Support Rate Increase
Most speakers at a hearing on proposed water and sewer rate increases for Columbus, Ohio told the city council Tuesday night they supported the higher fees. The increase is to cover the cost of preventing overflow problems that damage creeks and rivers in the area.
Headlines
A one foot section of corroded pipe in Reno, Nevada on Monday caused a water main rupture sending thousands of gallons of water onto the roadway.
In Maryland, residents in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties can sign up for a service that will alert them via e-mail or mobile phone text message if a burst pipe has cut off water service to their home or will snarl traffic.
Aging water infrastructure and a dramatic rise in system repairs forced the city council in Stillwater, Oklahoma to take a look at the situation and find solutions Monday.
Several residents in the Kansas City suburb of Olathe, Kansas recently attended a city council meeting after enduring wastewater backup problems for more than a decade.
Sewer Rate News
Gretna, Pennsylvania
Hollister, Missouri
Portage Township, Michigan
Sugarcreek, Ohio
11.10.08
Monday Headlines: Atlanta Completes Deep Sewer Tunnel Construction
In Atlanta, Georgia, after three years of digging and pouring concrete, construction crews have completed a deep sewer tunnel that can carry and store up to 177 million gallons of rain and sewage. The $190 million tunnel has been the most controversial piece of the city’s $4 billion overhaul of its water and sewer system. about 10 percent of Atlanta remains hooked to combined sewers.
Headlines
A water main break flooded an east side neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio this morning. Streets in the area were flooded with several inches of water and seventy-five homes were without water service.
Residents in Placerville, California were told Friday they could resume using their tap water without boiling after a possible contamination threat caused by a water main break. About 4,500 customers were affected by the break.
Michigan regulators have taken action to prevent major problems with a wastewater treatment plant in the city of Harbor Beach. The city has signed a consent order with the state Department of Environmental Quality, agreeing to pay a $28,700 fine, reimburse the DEQ for enforcement costs and upgrade the plant’s Industrial Pretreatment Program.
The EPA is requiring the city of Burley, Idaho to improve its wastewater treatment plant, including the reduction of effluent phosphorous and ammonia. The city estimates improvements will cost at least $2 million over the next five years.
Sewer Rate News
Bloomington, Illinois
Columbus, Ohio
Laurel, Mississippi
Modesto, California
10.24.08
Friday Headlines: Water Main Break Traps Residents in Apartment Complex
Part of 33rd Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma will be closed for about a week after a water main break flooded a portion of the city Thursday morning. The water trapped people who live at a local apartment complex. City Public Works officials said recent rains caused the ground to shift, which broke the water line.
Headlines
A water main break may leave several hundred homes and businesses in part of Scranton, Pennsylvania without water service. People may have low water pressure, cloudy water or no water service at all.
In Atlantic, Iowa, the city council is considering an expansion of its wastewater treatment facility at a cost of $16 million. Should the city decide to proceed with the option to build a new $16 million facility, rates would increase to $42.55 for the first 3,000 gallons and $2.25 for each 1,000 gallons after that. An average bill would cost just under $50 a month.
With Election Day less than two weeks away, the media is focusing more on a ballot question in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania: Should the state borrow $400 million to pay for water and sewer improvements? Half the $400 million would go toward grants, and the rest would be issued as low-interest loans.
The village of Middleport has received a $140,169 low-interest loan from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to help plan long-term control of combined sewer overflows. Such overflows are a major cause of water pollution and can have adverse effect on human health.
Sewer Rate News
Blacklake, Georgia
Cape Elizabeth, Maine
Richmond, Missouri
10.17.08
Friday Headlines: Sinkhole Swallows RV After Sewer Collapses
A large chunk of a street in Cleveland, Ohio collapsed, creating a sinkhole that swallowed the back end of a camper. A spokesperson from the Department of Water said a sewer collapsed, creating a hole that is 15 feet by 15 feet and seven feet deep. (picture courtesy of WEWS-TV)
Headlines
After years of waiting, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management has told the city of Wabash, Indiana what it needs to do with regards to its stormwater and sanitary sewers. Mayor Bob Vanlandingham was quick to point out that the work would involve millions of dollars and would almost certainly result in higher sewer bills in the near future to build up funds for the work to be done over the next 20 years.
In Oakland, California, an advisory issued Wednesday after sewage spilled into a harbor was lifted Thursday night when the water was deemed safe.
A water main break has closed a section of state Route 256 in Baltimore, Ohio.
Iowa City, Iowa likely will complete an emergency project to replace sewer lines damaged during the 2008 flood. If the lines are not replaced, they could release sewage directly into the Iowa River. Engineers estimate the project will cost more than $1 million but the city expects FEMA to reimburse 90% of the cost.
Sewer Rate News
Baytown, Texas
Jeffersonville, Kentucky
Russellville, Arkansas
York, Nebraska
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
10.06.08
Monday Headlines: 150,000 Gallon Sewer Overflow in Florence, S.C.
Work crews in Florence, South Carolina are cleaning the site of a 150,000-gallon sewer overflow that ran into Jeffries Creek. Crews removed the blockage that caused the overflow and then cleaned visible solids at the discharge site using lime to disinfect the affected area.
Headlines
In San Diego, more than 3 million gallons of water spilled from a pipeline that failed yesterdayin a remote section of Mission Trails Regional Park. Emergency repairs on the 72-inch concrete pipeline has already started. Constructed in 1977, the pipeline delivers untreated water to the city’s Alvarado and Otay water treatment plants and the Sweetwater Authority’s Perdue Treatment Plant.
On Friday, city officials in Portland, Oregon urged people to avoid going into the Willamette River after rains caused the city’s sewer system to overflow.
A water main break Saturday night in Troy, New York had crews working overtime to repair not only the water main, but the pavement which buckled. The Department of Transportation said the road reopened at 3:30 p.m. Monday with no delays.
State route 10 in Cheshire, Connecticut should be opened in both directions this afternoon after a broken water main is fixed and road patched up. A 12-inch water main underneath Route 10 broke Sunday evening, sending water gushing through and leaving a sinkhole in the road. Route 10 was shut down overnight but one lane opened in the morning.
Sewer Rate News
Antrim Township, Pennsylvania
Buhl, Idaho
Lowell, Massachusetts
Northwood, Ohio
