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
06.11.09
Thursday’s Water News: Tunnel Project to Capture Half of Indy’s Overflows
Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard has announced that federal officials approved a change to city sewer improvement plans that will more quickly capture billions of gallons of sewage now overflowing into the White River. A $257 million Deep Rock Tunnel Connector project will replace earlier plans to connect the city’s two wastewater treatment plants and will capture more than half of the city’s overflows.
Headlines
Heavy rain caused two sewage spills in Alamance County (N.C.) last week. The city of Graham reported a spill on Friday of approximately 9,000 gallons, while the town of Swepsonville also a reported a spill of 4,800 gallons.
The Richmond, Indiana Sanitary District expects to replace part of its aging sanitary sewer line for almost $1 million less than the original estimate.
Stimulus Spotlight
Several Southern Colorado water projects have a good shot at receiving federal stimulus money due to the recent ranking by state water quality regulators.
Water districts in the Kansas counties of Osage and Pottawatomie will receive a total of $5.4 million in federal stimulus funds to install and replace water lines and build new water storage tanks.
Sewer Rate News
Bandon, Oregon
Rochester, New Hampshire
San Luis Obispo, California
Willards, Maryland
06.03.09
Wednesday’s Water News: Main Break Shoots Water Sky High in Colorado Springs
A water main break this morning in Colorado Springs, Colorado shot water about 100 feet high just before 3:30 a.m. this morning. The force of the water tore a large hole in the street, and scattered rock and gravel in the area.
Headlines
A water main break in Towson, Maryland which flooded much of the area and is still a traffic nuisance. The water caused the road of a major street to buckle and caused Baltimore County Police to close part of the southbound lanes in the area of the break.
Part of a Hilton Head, South Carolina waterway has been closed to swimmers after a blocked sewer line sent nearly 200,000 gallons of sewage gushing out of a manhole and into Battery Creek.
Stimulus Spotlight
Maryland has been awarded nearly $122 million Tuesday from the EPA to fund drinking water projects and improve water quality as part of the federal government’s latest round of stimulus spending.
Today the EPA announced it will give the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority $54.8 million in stimulus funds to help local governments finance improvements to water infrastructure.
Sewer Rate News
Johnson County, Kansas
Nantucket, Massachusetts
Prescott Valley, Arizona
Silverton, Oregon
05.29.09
Thursday and Friday’s Water News: Pittsburgh Water Main Break Leads to Traffic Delays
Pardon my lack of posting yesterday as I was under the weather, to make it up to you here is a supersized update.
Drivers on Pittsburgh’s South Side were met with traffic delays on Thursday morning, after thousands of gallons of water went gushing from a broken 16-inch main into the streets leaving about 15 homes without water service.
Headlines
A break in a 24-inch water main closed a portion of a major road in West Springfield, Massachusetts, flooding it with about 2 million gallons of water and causing traffic problems.
The northbound lanes of a busy road in Utica, Michigan are closed because of a large water main break and the repairs are expected to take all day.
After more than four years of preparation, officials have broken ground on a state-of-the-art water filtration plant in East Chicago, Indiana. The $55 million facility will provide the purest drinking water currently available and replace the existing 45-year-old facility.
Stimulus Spotlight
The town of Wynot in the northeast corner of Nebraska is getting nearly $1.2 million in federal stimulus money for improvements to its water and wastewater systems.
Farmington, New Mexico has been awarded $2.1 million in federal and state funds to improve more than two miles of water piping–half paid through the federal stimulus bill and half through a state low-interest loan program.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Thursday that 10 New York water and wastewater projects will receive $14.8 million through the federal stimulus package.
Money from the economic stimulus package will pay for the construction of nine miles of water pipelines in downtown Tampa and Davis Islands. The funding will come from a $23 million low-interest loan and a $2.5 million grant and is expected to create about 125 jobs beginning this October.
Sewer Rate News
Goshen, New York
Middlebury, Vermont
Portland, Oregon
Washington County, Oregon
05.12.09
Tuesday Headlines: Next BIG Sewer Project Scheduled in Portland, Ore.
Work is scheduled to begin next month on a massive sewer project in the Northwest Portland, Oregon industrial area as part of the city’s Big Pipe program.
Headlines
An eight-inch water-main break in Phoenix Tuesday afternoon has closed streets and left multiple homes with little or no water.
Service is expected to be restored Tuesday after a water main break in El Cajon, California. The burst 12-inch main spewed water causing the road and sidewalk to buckle.
Wisconsin state officials say municipal water construction projects will get a $143 million boost from federal stimulus funding. The application deadline is June 30, and priority is to go to projects ready to proceed to construction in 12 months or sooner.
Holly Springs, North Carolina will receive $81,600 in federal stimulus money for a solar-powered mixer to maintain water quality in one of the Town’s elevated storage tanks.
Sewer Rate News
Fruitland, Maryland
Hampshire, Illinois
Wheeling, West Virginia
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
04.14.09
Tuesday Headlines: Suit Filed Against Benicia, Calif. for Sewer Overflows
A second lawsuit has been brought against the city of Benicia, California for sewer overflows. At issue in the case is a city sewer line that has backed up and overflowed into the plantiff’s side yard several times over the years.
Headlines
Portage Township, Michigan has received a grant from the USDA totaling 75 percent of the cost of the project to install a sewer line
Oregon environmental regulators have fined the city of Portland $16,000 for two failures in one of the city’s sewer lines last year.
Recent storms contributed in Baldwin County, Alabama to another sewer overflow after heavy rain swept through the area.
More than a mile of sewer line will be replaced under a bid approved by officials in Bowling Green, Kentucky on Monday.
Sewer Rate News
Mayville, Wisconsin
Quincy, Illinois
Riviera Beach, California
Sackets Harbor, New York
04.13.09
Monday Headlines: Las Vegas Water Main Break Disrupts Service to 2,000
Water was turned back on to homes and businesses in Las Vegas Friday night after a water main break left almost 2,000 people without water for much of the day.
Headlines
In Ohio, a Columbus Department of Public Utilities Report notes several accomplishments made last year including removal of two sanitary sewer overflow discharge locations.
A sewer-replacement project that starts today in Danville, Illinois should prevent water from backing up into residents homes during heavy rains.
The Oregon Department of Agriculture has closed commercial oyster harvesting in Coos Bay following a Thursday morning sewage spill in North Bend that discharged 30,000 gallons of sewage into the bay after debris blocked a pipe causing a backup.
All residents of Ridgefield, New Jersey are being told to boil their water after an early morning main break that caused major disruptions in the community.
Sewer Rate News
Green Valley, West Virginia
Onslow, North Carolina
Westminster, Maryland
04.02.09
Thursday Headlines: Allegheny County Needs $21 Billiion for System Upgrades
In Pennsylvania, an audit of the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (Alcosan) released this morning estimates the authority might need as much as $21 billion to comply with a federal order to upgrade its storm water and sewer management system. Below is an eye popping quote from the story.
…the authority’s funding troubles may lead to as much as a $3,104 annual rate increase for ratepayers in the Alcosan system if the authority doesn’t receive any outside funding to help pay for its system-wide upgrade, slated to start in about five years. Businesses served by Alcosan, they added, could see a rate increase anywhere between $3,000 and $25,000 annually…
Headlines
The City Council in New Bedford, Massachusetts has voted to recommend borrowing $19.3 million to fund the removal of almost 6,000 cubic yards of PCB-contaminated grit from the city’s primary sewer pipe. Removing the grit will increase the sewer main’s capacity thereby reducing the likelihood of overflows.
Rising water is overwhelming the storm drain system in Arlington, Georgia. The recent heavy rain has about ten thousands of gallons per day flowing out of the sewers there.
A precautionary boil water advisory remains in effect in Marion, Ohio after a break in a 20-inch water main on Wednesday morning reduced pressure.
Motorists driving in Durham, North Carolina will continue to be rerouted while city crews repair breaks in two parallel water lines. Repair work is dependent on weather conditions, which may delay the repairs for several days.
Sewer Rate News
Hampshire, Illinois
Lake Oswego, Oregon
New Windsor, Maryland
Suffolk, Virginia
03.19.09
Thursday Headlines: Fines Likely for Georgia Community After Overflow
Water officials in Columbus, Georgia could face stiff fines after more than five inches rain overwhelmed the system causing 1.5 million gallons of sewage to spill into the Chattahoochee River over the weekend.
Headlines
In California, a five-year plan of over $22 million in upgrades is planned for the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District’s sewer system and water treatment facilities, prompting officials to propose annual rate hikes to pay for the improvements.
A sewer line failure resulted in the discharge of untreated sewage in Graniteville, South Carolina today. The public has been advised to avoid contact with waters around and downstream of the overflow.
The state of Texas will receive nearly $342 million from the economic stimulus for improvements and protection of public water supplies.
Iowa Governor Chet Culver has announced that the city of Centerville will receive a federal award of $600,000 to replace its aging and damaged storm sewer system.
Sewer Rate News
Albemarle County, Virginia
Ashland, Oregon
El Dorado, Arkansas
Vernon, Michigan
