Water News Update » Rhode Island

Friday’s Water News: Ohio EPA Investigates Milford’s Duck Creek

joepaul1 — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:48:50 +0000

Ohio’s State Environmental Protection Agency is taking a close look at the town of Milford’s Duck Creek. The creek is a tributary to many others, so the problem is not an isolated one. Residents are reporting untreated or undertreated waste in the river, largely due to an aging wastewater infrastructure that leads to repeated overflows.

Headlines
The Town of Lee’s Summit, Missouri is being charged $60,000 dollars in penalties for sewage overflows in 2008 and 2009. One of these spills amounted to 100,000 gallons of sewage pouring into nearby Prairie Lee Lake.

A $101,000 dollar fine has been issued to the town of North Providence, Rhode Island because the federal Environmental Protection Agency has deemed the local drinking water unsafe.

Stimulus Spotlight
Thanks to the stimulus package, the town of Cambridge, Massachusetts is receiving $2 million dollar in low interest loans to repair its aging wastewater infrastructure system.

Sewer Rate News
Castleton, Vermont
Granville, Ohio
Macomb Township, Michigan
North Ridgeville, Ohio
Princeton Borough, New Jersey

Monday’s Water News: Water Main Break Forces Cornell University to Close Art Buildings

bengann — Mon, 24 May 2010 21:45:41 +0000

Cornell University’s Foundry–which house art studios on campus–are closed until further notice after water from a main break eroded the ground around the building. Civil engineers are developing a plan to stabilize the bank so the building may be reopened.

Headlines
Early Sunday morning, an eight-inch water main broke outside a hospital in Colorado Springs, Colorado spilling thousands of gallons of water onto a road and into the basement of the hospital. It took crews approximately two hours to shut off the flow of water.

The Associated Press has a story on the problem small Oregon communities are having in addressing repairs to their sewage systems. “Ten or 15 years from now, people will be paying routinely $200, $300 a month bills for sanitary sewer service,” said Hermiston City Manager Ed Brookshier. “And people will realize, Wow, what happened here.”

Stimulus Spotlight
A project in Antioch, California that reuses water for landscaping at parks and green spaces throughout the city is receiving $787,000 in economic stimulus funds from the Bureau of Reclamation. Without the stimulus money, it would take 44 years for the recycled water costs to break even with current water costs.

The city of Virginia, Illinois is receiving a loan from the EPA via the economic stimulus to construct a lime-softening plant, five wells and a 300,000-gallon water tower that should be online by March 2011.

Sewer Rate News
Block Island, Rhode Island
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Lewisboro, New York
Louisville, Kentucky

Wednesday’s Water News: Massachusetts Sells $283M in Bonds for Water and Sewer Systems

bengann — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 18:02:23 +0000

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) has sold $283 million in tax exempt bonds, $30 million more than planned, to help finance construction and operations of water and sewer systems. $100 million in bonds will help fund construction while approximately $183 million will refinance existing debt, all backed by the agency’s revenue. MWRA provides water and sewer services to 43 percent of the state’s residents.

Headlines
In an effort to jump-start a major renovation of its Lake Michigan water supply system, the village of Oak Lawn will receive $40 million in low-interest loans from the state EPA. The estimated $193 million renovation project would update and greatly expand an antiquated water system that now snakes through 257 miles of pipe, affecting about 100,000 hookups.

An 80-year-old water main ruptured yesterday in San Diego causing a large sinkhole and forcing the closure of a busy thoroughfare and connector road for hours.

In Rhode Island, the cost of replacing the water treatment plant that supplies most of Portsmouth and other parts of Aquidneck Island with its water and making other improvements to the island supply system could be as high as $87 million.

Stimulus Spotlight
More than $5 million in federal money is coming to Baraga, Michigan so the village can upgrade the water system. This includes a loan of more than $2.5 million through stimulus money and the remainder in the form of a grant.

Sewer Rate News
Cumberland, Maryland
Geneva, Illinois
Silverton, Oregon
Springfield, Illinois

Wednesday’s Water News: Flooding Causes Sewer Overflows in Rhode Island

bengann — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 19:46:42 +0000

The rapidly rising waters of the Pawtuxet River in Rhode Island caused unprecedented flooding at the West Warwick and Warwick sewage treatment plants yesterday, shutting down both plants and spreading untreated sewage. Such extensive flood damage of two major sewer plants has never happened before.

Headlines
Approximately 25,000 people living in Harrison Township, Michigan were without water for almost 12 hours on Monday when the water main which serves as the connector to Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) broke. The township receives all its water from DWSD.

Work is now underway on the largest of four sewer projects in Evansville, Indiana. City officials say the project will improve service to 1,500 homes, should be a major step forward in fixing the city’s sewer and drainage system.

Stimulus Spotlight
The Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington has received $1.95 million from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, including $950,000 from the economic stimulus, for the purchase and installation of a manure bioenergy management facility.

Congressman Baron Hill visited Columbus, Indiana yesterday to tour the new wastewater treatment facility currently under construction. Part of the $50 million cost of the projects is being offset by $4 million in economic stimulus funding.

Sewer Rate News
Mattoon, Illinois
Milltown, New Jersey
Tyrone Township, Michigan

Friday’s Water News: Aurora, Illinois Plans $151 Million in Sewer Improvements Over 20 Years

bradhannon — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 17:27:30 +0000

Over the next 20 years, Aurora, Illinois plans to spend an estimated $151 million to continue dealing with its combined sewer systems. Aurora’s sewer system dates back to the late 1800s and The Illinois EPA has required the city to submit a long-term control plan for its sewer system by April 1. The plan will likely involves continuing to build larger sewer pipes, creating more wet weather storage, and building additional treatment facilities.

Headlines
A fire truck that responded to troubles caused by a water main break in Warwick, Rhode Island was out of commission today after its front wheels sank into a sinkhole created by the break. The wheels sank about 12 to 18 inches into the hole before crews with stabilizing jacks from the truck were able to stop its downward decline.

After more than $1 billion in taxpayer money was spent inefficiently on water and sewer projects along the U.S.-Mexico border, Congressman Ciro Rodriguez has submitted a bill to the House Committee on Natural Resources which would foster coordination between the government agencies

Stimulus Spotlight
The economic stimulus continues to fund projects in the Dayton, Ohio region, most notably a $20 million expansion and upgrade of the Warren County wastewater treatment plant and replacement of aging and failing mechanical equipment that will double the plant’s average daily flow.

Two multi-million-dollar construction projects will get underway this year in York, Nebraska, resulting in much-needed infrastructure improvements that have been years in the making. The city will be installing a new water main, a new sanitary sewer line, and mammoth storm sewer pipe that will direct the city’s drainage to Beaver Creek. Interest-free federal stimulus dollars will pay for the majority of the project.

Sewer Rate News
Dillon, Colorado
Fremont, Ohio
Hilliard, Ohio
South Lake Tahoe, California

Thursday’s Water News: Jackson, Mississippi Hit with More Water Main Breaks

bradhannon — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 19:10:34 +0000

Crews continue working around the clock to repair dozens of broken water mains across the city of Jackson, Mississippi. Mayor Harvey Johnson said in a Wednesday morning news conference eight additional crews from other cities were backing up employees from Jackson’s Public Works Department. Since last week, 123 water line breaks have been reported.

Headlines
The cold weather has broken so many water lines in High Point, North Carolina that officials are asking residents to conserve water. City public services director Chris Thompson says the city has worked on about 30 water main breaks in the past month.

Hundreds of people in two Rosebud County, Montana communities spent the past week without running water, and relief may be delayed for some residents. Northern Cheyenne Tribe president Leroy Spang has declared a state of emergency, and officials and volunteers have been delivering bottled water to residents.

A major water main break knocked out water for hundreds of people living in Warner Robins, Georgia overnight.

Stimulus Spotlight
Upgrades at the Field’s Point Wastewater Treatment Facility will create approximately 75 local construction jobs, U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s office said Wednesday. Whitehouse, D-R.I., toured the plant Wednesday to learn about the planned upgrades, which are being funded by the economic stimulus law.

Virginia was second in the nation to fund all its water-quality projects, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said yesterday. All 35 projects are under contract or under construction, he said. In April, the State Water Control Board approved $77.7 million in federal money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, through the Virginia Clean Water Revolving Loan Fund.

Sewer Rate News
Prescott, Arizona
Fall River, Massachusetts
Lindenhurst, Illinois

Wednesday’s Water News: Tacoma Completes Treament Plant Expansion

bengann — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:31:42 +0000

Completion of a $95 million upgrade and expansion project at Tacoma, Washington’s Central Treatment Plant brings has brought it up to standards set by the state government and will help protect water quality in Puget Sound.

Headlines
A 90-square-foot section of road collapsed in Newport Beach, California this morning following a break in a water main that caused a block-long area to be covered with as much as 6 inches of water.

In New York City, a break in a 12-inch water main installed around 1870 resulted in some traffic problems in midtown this morning.

Stimulus Spotlight
House Trnasportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) wants the state of Delaware to more quickly spend its stimulus funds dedicated for infrastructure projects. Oberstar believes the state had not spent any of its $19.2 million in Clean Water State Revolving Fund via the economic stimulus by the end of August. The state has awarded the Clean Water money to local governments, which had not bid any projects yet.

The state of Minnesota has announced that the town of Clear Lake is among five towns in the state that will get federal stimulus money for city water improvement projects. About $596,000 will go to the town for lift station improvements.

Rhode Island state officials has announced the awarding of $135 million in low-cost loans to 32 communities to increase drinking-water supplies or develop new pipelines and treatment facilities to reduce water pollution.

Sewer Rate News
Bonne Terre, Missouri
Graham, Texas

Thursday’s Water News: EPA Reaches Agreement with Seattle on Overflows

bengann — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 22:24:22 +0000

The EPA has reached agreements with Seattle and King County to reduce how much sewage is dumped into lakes, rivers and Puget Sound during heavy rainstorms. Every year 1.94 billion gallons of untreated sewage and polluted runoff from Seattle and King County are discharged into the Sound and other bodies of water as a result of overflows.

Headlines
City officials in Fort Wayne, Indiana have approved the emergency repair of an overflowing sewer pipe that was built in 1867.

The largest sewer spill in the history of Laguna Beach, California will cost the city $70,000 after the state regulatory agency which oversees water quality issued a fine for stemming from the record breaking sewage spill that released 590,000 gallons of sewage into the ocean last October.

Stimulus Spotlight
Hart County, Georgia will receive $500,000 in stimulus money in the form of a Community Development Block Grant to expand the county’s water infrastructure.

The city of North Wildwood, New Jersey is getting $3.7 million in economic stimulus funds via the USDA Rural Development’s Water and Environmental Program to make improvements to its existing sanitary sewer system, including constructing and replacing an eight-inch sanitary main.

Sewer Rate News
Jamestown, Rhode Island
Laurel, Mississippi
Pratt, West Virginia

Thursday’s Water News: Indy Suburb Begins $6.6 Million Sewer Project

bengann — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:42:47 +0000

Noblesville, Indiana has begun to replace an aging sewer line that carries an extimated price tag of $6.6 million. The project will replace a more-than-100-year-old combined sanitary and storm sewer running into the White River.

Headlines
About 400 households in Cumberland, Rhode Island were without water this afternoon after a major water main break which also caused a large sinkhole in the middle of the road. (photo courtesy of WLNE-TV)

Officials in Cape May, New Jersey have closed a recreational area of the beach since Monday after a flood of raw sewage discharged in the surf area.

Stimulus Spotlight
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has awarded $2.8 million in economic stimulus funding to the city of Bonifay for rehabilitation of the its sewer collection system. Bonifay is one of 58 projects in 52 Florida communities scheduled to receive economic stimulus money to help build critical drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure.

Frazier Park, California has been approved for a $1 million grant and a $2.1 million low-interest loan from the economic stimulus via the USDA Rural Development’s Water and Waste Disposal Program to replace three failing tanks, pipe lines, valves, hydrants and the fraying patchwork of repaired lines.

Sewer Rate News
Frostproof, Florida
Hebron, Illinois
Oak Hill, West Virginia

Tuesday Headlines: Rhode Island Town May Suspend Sewer Expansion

bengann — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:31:40 +0000

The Town Administrator of North Smithfield, Rhode Island has asked the Town Council to suspend a controversial town sewer expansion project for up to 60 days in response to criticism over the project’s cost. Some homeowners have voiced concerns about the long-term cost of the project, which is being financed by a $21-million sewer bond approved by voters in 2007.

Headlines
New Hampshire Governor John Lynch has announced that a total of 108 drinking water and wastewater projects will be partially funded by money from the economic stimulus.

The city of Lorain, Ohio will spend $3 million on the final phase of an Ohio EPA-mandated project to deal with the delivery and storage of sewage.

Works crews have finished cleaning up a 14,000- gallon sewage spill in Winterville, North Carolina after a small split in a sewer pipe sent raw sewage onto a pathway and into an adjacent canal.

The Bureau of Reclamation will spend $1 billion in federal stimulus money on water-infrastructure projects, including about $88 million in the state of Arizona.

Sewer Rate News
Jacksonville, Florida
Manteno, Illinois
Pontiac, Illinois
Star City, West Virginia