Other Headlines
Parts of Interstate 70 in downtown St. Louis reopened this morning after repairs were made to a sewer line break which had shut down the highway since early Sunday morning.

In Alabama, the Jefferson County Commission and the court appointed receiver of its sewer system are on stand still for 30 days. Commissioners will use the time to try to negotiate a settlement with creditors and the state on the $3 billion sewer debt.

With nearly 25 percent of Bloomington, Illinois’ sewer lines dating back to the 19th century, the city will next month begin a study of its sewer infrastructure needs to determine how much of it needs replaced and what it will cost.

Residents in New Rochelle, New York are being advised to stay away from the Long Island Sound after a small amount of sewage leaked into the water following a sewer backup.

Water and Sewer Rate News
Cleveland, Ohio
Taylors, South Carolina
Waukee, Iowa

Other Headlines
Pollution in Illinois waterways has improved dramatically but state and federal environmental officials say it’s still not good enough, and that too many cities still have antiquated sewer systems that route sewage and storm water through the same pipes, causing them to overflow during heavy rains. EPA has ordered cities to submit plans by the end of September for how they will limit overflows to no more than four per year or capture 85 percent of the volume when the systems do overflow.

The New Jersey State Environmental Commissioner expects the state legislature to approve $44 million in funding for stormwater projects aimed at restoring Barnegat Bay.

The City of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania  has moved one step closer to pursuing a $9.4 million loan to upgrade the city’s wastewater treatment plant. The city would be responsible for 50 percent of the loan’s cost, with the other municipalities that receive sewer service from the city picking up the other half.

On Saturday and again on Sunday, a water main break at Kansas City International Airport has shut down water supply to part of Terminal A and slowed traffic near the terminal.

Water and Sewer Rate News
Fall River, Massachusetts
Falls Church, Virginia
Spring Hill, Tennessee
Tega Cay, South Carolina

Other Headlines
Sanitary sewage overflows into homeowners’ basements and a local waterway in Elmhurst, Illinois and the city’s failure to prevent or report the issues has prompted the Illinois EPA to tell the city to comply with state and federal laws or face penalties.

A stretch of road in Fargo, North Dakota turned into a river this morning after a massive water main break. The break was so bad that it completely drained the water tower which served the affected neighborhood and left some residents without water while the break was being repaired.

There are concerns that Greenville, South Carolina’s aging sewer system is hindering the city’s economic growth, as sewer capacity has become a big concern when planning new development.

A raw sewage spill spewed a foul mess all over the street in a Gulf Park Estates, Mississippi neighborhood. One affected resident says that since moving to the area in 2002 she has seen 30 or so nasty leaks.

Water and Sewer Rate News
Bell Buckle, Tennessee
Lake Elmo, Minnesota
San Clemente, California
Smithsburg, Maryland

Other Headlines
In Hawaii, the public was advised to stay out of Kaneohe Bay and Windward Oahu and North Shore on waters on Saturday because of sewage spills and storm runoff from Saturday’s heavy rains.

St. Augustine Prep School in Richland, New Jersey has expanded its wastewater treatment system to handle the treatment needs of the school for the foreseeable future.

The Las Vegas-area clean water agency that won a crucial $62 million Nevada Supreme Court ruling that changed the way the governor and Legislature handled the state budget is liquidating its assets. The Clark County Water Reclamation District and the cities of Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas formed the coalition in 2002 to address the valley’s growing sewage problem, but the bad economy halted growth and dried up the connection charge revenue that was expected to fund most of the work.

Work continues filling sinkholes along Middletown, Ohio’s Great Miami River bike path. The sinkholes were caused by corroded sewer piped and flooding of the river. It’s estimated the price tag so far to make repairs is close to three-quarters of a million dollars.

Water and Sewer Rate News
Gastonia, North Carolina
Lake Wylie, South Carolina
Lee County, Florida
St. Louis, California

Other Headlines
A newly completed sewer facility in northeast Queens (N.Y.) will reduce the amount of pollutants discharged into Alley Creek and Little Neck Bay. As part of the project, several storm drains were installed to reduce flooding issues along the Cross Island Parkway.

Delaware Governor Jack Markell has proposed sending $2 million to the state’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund, which would be combined with federal money to help municipalities fund wastewater infrastructure projects.

A boil-water advisory remains in effect for about 60,000 customers of the Anderson Regional Joint Water System in South Carolina after a water main break Wednesday evening. Although water service has been restored to the customers, the boil water advisory affects a third of the systems customers.

Eighty percent of the 74 water sample locations conducted along the Hudson River after the heavy rains of mid-May resulted in “unacceptable” levels of pollution from sewage overflow into the river. The sampling was conducted from New York Harbor north to Waterford. Not one sample north of Poughkeepsie had an acceptable reading.

Water and Sewer Rate News
Millinocket, Maine
Onsted, Michigan
Roseville, California
Washington Township, Michigan

Other Headlines
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control says about 1 million gallons of untreated sewage has flowed into Steele Creek because of a sewage line break. Steele Creek merges into Sugar Creek, which eventually feeds into the Catawba River.

The City Council in Winnebago, Minnesota has decided to move forward with a sanitary sewer project.  The total cost of the project will be nearly half a million dollars, with 28 connections being impacted by the new project, 24 of them businesses.

The borough of Freeport, Pennsylvania wants the state to declare its multimillion-dollar storm sewer solutions too costly for customers. The state could grant extensions to the project until government funding is found to reduce the burden, which could take from six to 12 years.

EPA has presented a Drinking Water State Revolving Fund award to Missoula County, Montana for water system improvements to the Lewis and Clark Subdivision. In 2009, Missoula County was awarded $572,400 in economic stimulus funding to provide reliable water to residents in the subdivision, a low-income neighborhood.

Water and Sewer Rate News
Brooktrails, California
Massena, New York
Northville, Michigan
Novato, California

Other Headlines
In Bad Axe, Michigan, about 80,000 gallons of fully treated water and a mixture of raw sewage and storm water was discharged into the Bad Axe Drain yesterday because the infiltration flows exceeded the Bad Axe Wastewater Treatment Plant’s capacity.

Financing has been secured for the oft-delayed Puckety Creek sewer project in Washington Township, Pennsylvania. But threatened legal action could further delay the project, which will affect 750 authority customers. Washington Township Municipal Authority will get an $8 million loan from PNC Bank to finance the project. It is believed that project delays for the past 18 months have increased its cost by about $1.3 million.

The Borough Council in Hightstown, New Jersey has agreed to consider over $1.9 million for sewer improvements at its beleaguered sewage treatment plant and to bring a new well on-line.

The Village of Wilton has settled with the state of Wisconsin over alleged violations at its wastewater treatment plant in Monroe County. As part of the agreement the village has agreed to pay $7,000 and retain a second certified wastewater operator for six months.

Water and Sewer Rate News
Los Gatos, California
Port Angeles, Washington
Rock Hill, South Carolina
San Diego, California

Other Headlines
Texas faces a significant cut in federal funding for some environmental projects as a result of the recent budget deal in Washington. Cuts to the EPA’s SRF programs for the current fiscal year mean that the Lone Start State anticipates receiving $25 million less for drinking-water projects and $30 million less for sewer projects the previous fiscal year.

Work crews worked to repair a sinkhole today in Kansas City that developed after a water main break. The sinkhole swallowed a car, shutdown traffic at the intersection and affected 20 nearby businesses.

Saturday’s rainfall in Bay City, Michigan caused more than 20 million gallons of partially treated sewage to overflow into the Saginaw River.

The northeastern Missouri city of Macon will get a $1.3 million loan thank to the EPA’s state revolving fund program to improve its wastewater disinfection facilities.

Water and Sewer Rate News
Fountain, Colorado
Grandville, Michigan
Jurupa, California
New Haven, Indiana

Other Headlines
Engineers trying to figure out the cause of sewer backups at homes in Southington, Connecticut say they expect to make recommendations for solving the problem by the end of May.

In a settlement with the Ohio EPA, the city of Crestline will make sewer system and wastewater treatment plant improvements to eliminate overflows of untreated sewage and comply with effluent contaminant limits set in its discharge permit.

PennVEST has awarded the small community of Franklin with a $2.8 million grant for a major rehabilitation of its sanitary sewer system.

Traffic will be closed for two streets in downtown Tucson, Arizona for at least a week after a break in a 36-inch line on Tuesday. Workers will have to dig by hand to get to the break. The city is hoping to fix the damage and re-open the road before next weekend’s Mariachi conference.

Water and Sewer Rate News
Aiken County, South Carolina
Hudson, Ohio
Laguna Niguel, California
Mill Valley, California

Other Headlines
The city of Welch, West Virginia’s wastewater treatment plant will soon be getting an upgrade in order to process more water and prevent dumping into local streams and creeks.

Gibbsboro, New Jersey has been awarded more than $2 million in funding to replace and renovate sewer lines. USDA has awarded the municipality a $175,000 grant and a $450,000 low-interest loan for the effort. An additional $1.39 million loan from the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund will fund the balance of the project.

The company that constructed the Gatlinburg (Tenn.) Wastewater Sewage Plant basin that failed last week apparently did not follow exact design specifications, a forensic engineer said Monday. When the basin failed the morning of April 5 after a night of heavy rain, two Veolia Water North America employees were killed and more than 2 million gallons of untreated sewage poured into the nearby West Prong of the Little Pigeon River.

In Hamilton, Ohio, the start of a 30-month upgrade to the LeSourdsville Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant is now underway in earnest. The plant will undergo a $41.7 million upgrade and expansion, the first since the $14 million expansion in 1994.

Water and Sewer Rate News
Brawley, California
Canton, Michigan
Columbia, South Carolina
Oshkosh, Wisconsin