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
06.08.09
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
04.17.09
Friday Headlines: NYT Documents Deteriorationg Water Infrastructure
The New York Times has a story today on how it is becoming more difficult for municipalities across the country to ignore their aging water infrastructure as the pipes break at an increasing frequency. Here is the most relevant from the quote the story.
The new federal stimulus law provides $6 billion for water projects, with $2 billion of that directed to drinking water systems. But that money is only, well, a drop in the bucket: a report released last month by the E.P.A. estimated that the nation’s drinking water systems require an investment of $334.8 billion over the next two decades, with most of the money needed to improve transmission and distribution systems.
Headlines
$56.5 million in federal stimulus money from the Bureau of Reclamation will be used to build the second phase of the Lewis & Clark water treatment plant near Vermillion, South Dakota.
The state of Michigan is receiving $236 million under the economic stimulus plan to upgrade municipal water and sewer systems as part of a long-range effort to restore the Great Lakes.
A break in an old water main on South Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach, Florida is causing traffic detours this afternoon as crews complete repairs.
About one million gallons of water burst through the a broken water main drowning out an estimated $50,000 of lunch business across Estero Island in Southwest Florida.
Sewer Rate News
Alamosa, Colorado
Clarksdale, Arizona
Salisbury, Maryland
Sedona, Arizona
04.01.09
Wednesday Headlines: Washington State Receives Requests for Stimulus Dollars
In the state of Washington, dozens of cities and towns have applied for a share of the $111 million in federal stimulus money coming to the state for water quality projects. So far, the state has received 119 requests for loans and grants to meet requirements of the federal Clean Water Act.
Headlines
Independence, Missouri has reached an agreement with the EPA and will pay a $255,000 fine to the Justice Department and spend $455,000 on a supplemental environmental project. The city entered into a consent decree with the EPA after numerous violations of the Clean Water Act–including 430 sanitary sewer overflows since 2000.
South Dakota Department of Water and Natural Resources adopted emergency rules Friday in order to start taking applications for nearly $39 million of federal stimulus aid for state water projects.
The Ohio EPA will help the village of McComb with an interest-free loan of $1.3 million to finance construction to eliminate overflows in the sewer system. The interest-free loan will save McComb an estimated $942,000 in interest payments over the next 20 years.
On Monday in Kansas City, an eight-inch water main break under Interstate 29/35 just has prompted Missouri DOT officials to close the left northbound lane. Water started bubbling up through the pavement Monday evening. The emergency closure created significant traffic backups in the city.
Sewer Rate News
Livingston, California
Lodi, California
Mount Washington, Kentucky
02.12.09
Thursday Headlines: Final Vote on Stimulus Expected Tomorrow
House and Senate Conferees have agreed on a $789 billion economic stimulus conference report which could be voted on as soon as tomorrow. The conference report includes $4 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, $2 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, $1.28 billion to support $3.8 billion in grants and loans for rural water and wastewater infrastructure and $1 billion for the Bureau of Reclamation to provide clean, reliable drinking water to rural areas and to ensure adequate water supply to western localities impacted by drought.
Headlines
Flash flooding and temperature swings have put severe stress on St. Louis’ sewer system and the Metropolitan Sewer District has reported nearly 50 streets have experienced sewer backups. The worst of the incidents occurred when a tractor trailer became stuck in a 20 foot sinkhole caused by a broken main.
The Saginaw River is full of sewage this morning, after wastewater treatment plants in Bay City, Essexville and Saginaw all reported overflows. These are the first overflows of the year for these cities.
A spill of hundreds gallons of sewage from a ruptured sanitation line in Imperial Beach, California left a stretch the beach contaminated and closed several facilities near the beach.
A water main break in Sioux Falls, South Dakota caused some traffic problems on a busy street this morning after the water froze creating hazardous driving conditions.
Sewer Rate News
Bonners Ferry, Idaho
Delphos, Ohio
Tomah, Wisconsin
02.10.09
Tuesday Headlines: Senate Passes Stimulus
Today the Senate approved the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act by a vote of 61-37, with three Republicans joining 58 Democrats and Independents. The Senate reduced the House allocation for loans and grants for wastewater and drinking water infrastructure from $8.4 billion to $6.4 billion. Both chambers are expected to vote on final passage of the bill by President’s Day.
Headlines
Congressman Lee Terry (R-Neb.) is pushing for money from the economic stimulus package for Omaha’s sewer overhaul. Omaha is looking at a 15-year project to separate a most of its sewer system at an estimated cost of $1.5 billion.
Approximately $17.3 million in funding requests by the City of Zanesville, Ohio have been submitted for inclusion in the federal stimulus package. Highlighting the list is a plan for the construction of a new 10 million gallon per day water treatment plant to take the place of the old water works.
A recent sewage spill in Coos Bay could have a lasting impact on the state of Oregon requiring public notice when a sewage spill occurs. On January 27, the Oregon Department of Agriculture shut down commercial shellfish harvesting, but no one alerted the public who were clamming and crabbing in the bay.
The City Council of Kerrville, Texas held a special session Tuesday afternoon to discuss several items, including a water and wastewater master plan and funding options and a wastewater treatment plant relocation.
Sewer Rate News
Hot Springs, South Dakota
Lorain, Ohio
01.13.09
Tuesday Headlines: Small Kentucky City Has Plans for Investment from Stimulus
The city of Henderson, Kentucky has proposed list of projects totaling more than $50 million to be funded from a proposed economic recovery bill by Congress–the projects include $9.6 million for separation of combined sewers and $8.65 million for a sewer interceptor project.
Headlines
A water main break caused water to flood several yards and homes early Tuesday morning in North Reading, Massachusetts. Power and gas were shut off, and some of the residents were evacuated from the affected homes.
As crews neared completion of repairs to a water main break at an intersection in Bridgeport, Connecticut, another breka popped up in the same location. There are multiple road closures in the area and an elementary school had to dismiss students early because it had no water.
Cold weather and old pipes are believed to be the cause of a water main break late Friday that halted or interrupted service over the weekend for some homes and businesses n Madison, Wisconsin.
Lets hope this doesn’t happen on Inauguration Day next week. A morning rush-hour water main break in downtown Washington, D.C. forced the closure of several streets yesterday, snarling traffic through the day. It was pointed out by the D.C. Sewer and Water Authority that many mains fail this time of year, when temperatures swing between cold and moderate.
Sewer Rate News
Hot Springs, South Dakota
Long Beach Township, New Jersey
Oakwood, Illinois
Washington, D.C.
10.28.08
Tuesday Headlines: Redding, California Permanently Shuts of Water Main
The water main that blew a muddy geyser through the pavement of a road in Redding, California on Sunday will be permanently shut off. In August, the same 18-inch diameter pipe ruptured beneath a lawn on a high school campus.
Headlines
The people who live next to the sewage pump station in Hermitage, Pennsylvania where about 500,000 gallons of backed-up sewage leaked into the Shenango River earlier this month wanted answers Monday when they went to a meeting of the board that oversees the sewage system.
A water main break closed the eastbound lanes of busy thuroughfare in Denver early this morning. A 12-inch main broke at about 3:15 a.m. this morning and forced repair crews to close the busy road.
City crews in Kingston, New York, worked Monday to repair a sewer line that burst not far from the site of a 2004 collapse that sent raw sewage into the streets and front lawns. The sewer line which broke was about 100 years old.
Some Boulder, Colorado residents were without water Monday afternoon because of a main break. Drivers experienced detours and delays as an intersection was closed to repair the main.
Sewer Rate News
Clinton, Iowa
Menasha, Wisconsin
Rapid City, South Dakota
Sparta, Michigan
08.07.08
Thursday Headlines: Water Main Break Floods a Staten Island Development
In Staten Island, a massive water main break last night flooded streets and caused thousands of dollars in damage, leaving homeowners trying to pick up the pieces. Garages were awash with water and living spaces destroyed after a 12-inch pipe ruptured and sent torrents of water coursing into Aspen Knolls Estates development for more than three hours.
Headlines
Plans for Elkins, West Virginia’s $26 million water treatment plant and distribution system upgrade are on hold until funding is secured. The money will most likely come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Utility Service.
Two schools in Tonopah, Arizona were closed a day after classes started because of a water main break.
Nearly half of Furman University’s Campus is without water after the rupture of a 30-inch water line.
In Massachusetts, residents in the towns of Hingham, Hull, and Cohasset have joined forces and hired a consultant to help them fight a pending 21 percent water rate increase.
Sewer Rate News
Aberdeen, South Dakota
Allegan, Michigan
New Albany, Indiana
05.30.08
Friday Headlines: Alabama Cty. Extends Debt Payment
In Alabama, the Jefferson County Commission expects to vote today on a proposal for a two-month extension on a $47 million sewer debt payment due to eight banks.
Headlines
Some residents Newport Richey, Florida are without after a water main break.
The City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Environmental Services will be working on seven major sewer projects in June that may impact roadways and traffic on Oahu.
A group of homeowners in Carrollton, Illinois plagued by sewer back-ups into their homes, businesses and properties, are asking the city to find a long-term solution to the problem.
Sewer Rate News
Augusta County, Virginia
Garretson, South Dakota
West Hollywood, California
