Water News Update » South Dakota

Monday’s Water News: 100,000 in Baltimore County Without Water After Main Break

bengann — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:17:26 +0000

A water main break on Saturday morning which cut off service to 100,000 residents in Baltimore County can pick up water today at a local sports complex. The break in the 54-year-old main has closed 11 schools today as approximately 40,000 residents are still without water as of this morning.

Headlines
An electrical malfunction at a Fulton, Missouri lift station resulted in the release of an estimated 1.2 million gallons of untreated sewage on Friday.

The troubled Ogden Interceptor in Wilmington, North Carolina had another sewer spill on Saturday when about 2,625 gallons of sewage spilled into the wetlands of Smith Creek.

Stimulus Spotlight
A $550 million water project for 15 cities and five rural water districts in South Dakota, Iowa and southwestern Minnesota that’s more than 20 years in the making is beginning to take shape. The project is being supplemented by $56.5 million in funding from the economic stimulus.

A generator for a water treatment plant in Berwick, Maine installed last summer, and funded in part from the economic stimulus, allowed the plant to filter water last week despite losing power from the main grid due to gusting winds and heavy rain that tore through the area.

Sewer Rate News
Bath, New York
Montague, California
Pima County, Arizona
Riverbank, California

Friday’s Water News: Snow Leads to Wastewater Spill in North Carolina

bengann — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 22:16:01 +0000

The City of Lexington, North Carolina reported 187,500 gallons of untreated wastewater spilled on Monday. The spill happened after a sewer line was crushed under the combined weight of soil and snow.

Headlines
An estimated 100,000 gallons of sewage entered an intersection in Palos Verdes Estates, California shut down access to Lunada Bay on Monday.

Officials in Steamboat Springs, Colorado say a subdivision’s water is safe to drink and that repairs have been completed after a major break in a water line Monday evening.

Stimulus Spotlight
The Montana Department of Environmental Quality has awarded the Black Eagle Water and Sewer District $225,000 in economic stimulus funding to replace water mains, valves and hydrants in areas with a history of water main breaks.

Several Central Ohio projects are among the beneficiaries of the latest round of stimulus funding for water-quality improvement projects.

Sewer Rate News
Brandon, South Dakota
Great Falls, Montana
Keokuk, Iowa
New Albany, Indiana

Wednesday’s Water News: State of Iowa Awards $2.5M for Wastewater Project

bradhannon — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:40:23 +0000

Iowa Governor Chet Culver has announced that the Town of Clinton will be receiving $2.5 million from the state to help construct a new wastewater treatment plant and pump station. The award–which was made possible by a statewide construction program called I-JOBS–has spent $55 million in water infrastructure improvements across the state.

Headlines
A 16-inch main broke this morning in a residential area of Northridge, California, prompting a water-service interruption that affected nearby apartment residents. Water from the broken main flooded the street several inches deep and surrounded three parked vehicles.

The city of Mt. Vernon, Illinois has applied for a $1.1 million low-interest loan from the state’s EPA to extend sewer lines into areas opened for development by a new overpass and interchange. The loan is expected to cover the entire cost of the project.

Stimulus Spotlight
The Town of Roslyn, South Dakota is making improvements to its water and sewer system with assistance from the American Recovery Reinvestment Act through a USDA Rural Development Water and Waste Direct Loan in the amount of $415,000 and a Grant of $873,000.

Farmington, New Mexico has awarded a bid for its first stimulus infrastructure project to a local construction company claiming it could create as many as five jobs. The city will pay more than $2.1 million to install pipes carrying drinking water in the downtown area.

Sewer Rate News
Columbia, South Carolina
Falkville, Tennessee
Moundsville, West Virginia
Sedona, Arizona

Thursday’s Water News: Broken Water Main Causes Sinkhole in Pittsburgh

bradhannon — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:01:15 +0000

A broken water main in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania collapsed part of Smallman Street causing a major sinkhole. The street collapse caused a wooden utility pole to drop about six feet into the hole. Traffic was detoured around the work site and four businesses were without water service.

Headlines
Water service was interrupted this morning for dozens of customers in the Los Angeles area after two separate water mains ruptured. A 6-inch and a 12-inch main broke affecting 45 residents and businesses.

In Cincinnati, Ohio a water main break this morning spilled water onto the road that turned to ice and created a mess on the roadway.

Stimulus Spotlight
West Virginia officials say they are optimistic about receiving economic stimulus funds for an ambitious regional water project that could serve more than 8,000 citizens in McDowell and Wyoming counties.

By next summer, a large new water tower emblazoned with a Corn Palace logo could stand next to Interstate 90 in Mitchell, South Dakota. The project will be funded through the state’s SRF program and because of the economic stimulus will include 15 percent principal forgiveness.

Sewer Rate News
Cherokee, Iowa
Erie, Pennsylvania
Holland, Missouri
Muskegon Heights, Michigan

Friday’s Water News: Water Main Break Floods Parking Lot in Sacramento

bradhannon — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:04:15 +0000

Residents of a South Sacramento apartment complex are waking up to a flooded parking lot after an overnight water main break. Water was high enough to in the apartment parking lot to flood the interiors of some cars and several cars stalled out in the two-feet deep water and had to be pushed out of the water.

Headlines
School ended early Thursday in Morristown, New York after a water-main break near the lobby flooded hallways. District Superintendent David J. Glover said the main broke due to age, forcing officials to send students home around 9:30 a.m.

Two water main breaks today in Columbia, Missouri has disrupted water service and, in some areas, diverted traffic. Bystanders were taking pictures of the flood as it flowed high under cars parked along the side of the street. One car was towed to allow access to the break.

Stimulus Spotlight
Competition has emerged for utilities looking for loans to extend water pipes. Waterline extensions are almost always paid for with borrowed money. The Obama Administration’s economic stimulus program includes an offer to have the federal government pay 45 percent of the cost of interest payments for public works projects’ financing through revenue bonds.

In Florida the Haines City Commission on Thursday approved two water projects totaling $2.3 million that will be financed almost entirely by federal stimulus money.

Vermont’s congressional delegation announced that the village of Barton will receive $2.8 million for water system improvements funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Sewer Rate News
Colusa, California
Harrisburg, South Dakota
London, Ohio
Sayre, Pennsylvania

Monday’s Water News: Lansing CSO Project Showing Improvements

bengann — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:05:05 +0000

Lansing, Michigan’s rivers are benefiting from a combined sewer overflow (CSO) project that started almost two decades ago and has cost $278 million so far. Statistics show that, while it took years of CSO work to see large diversion numbers, real progress didn’t become evident until after 2000. Lansing’s residents are paying for the project through higher sewer rates.

Headlines
A new project is proposed for St. Joseph, Missouri that would upgrade a water treatment facility with an extra ultra-violet treatment tank and pumping station to keep up with industry standards on water quality.

Hoping to stem the tide of sanitary sewer overflows into Darby Creek, Haverford, Pennsylvania plans to install a 1.5 million gallon emergency overflow tank.

Several downtown Boston office buildings were closed and a section of Cambridge Street was down to one lane of traffic after a water main break early this morning.

Stimulus Spotlight
In California, the Calaveras County Water District has received $1,7 million in stimulus funds for a new water storage tank which will double its capacity.

American Indian tribes in the Dakotas are getting about $42 million in federal stimulus money for water project.

Sewer Rate News
Berlin, Maryland
Madison County, Missouri
Rome, Georgia
Tyngsboro, Massachusetts

Friday’s Water News: In Baltimore, Over 5,000 Water Main Breaks Since 2000

bengann — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 23:00:22 +0000

Following last week’s massive water main break near Baltimore, a local television station investigation of the area’s water infrastructure points out that there have been more than 5,000 breaks in the Baltimore area since 2000. It is estimated that Baltimore would need $2 billion to fix all its water mains.

Headlines
One of the largest infrastructure projects in Ironton, Ohio’s history will start on October 5 as work crews will start on the city’s $12 million sanitary sewer re-lining project.

A major water main break in Sandy, Utah caused flooding close to the eastbound off-ramp on Interstate 15.

Stimulus Spotlight
In North Dakota, more than $3.7 million in federal stimulus funds will go toward the Cass Rural Water District to build a pipeline that will improve water supply services in the area.

State officials in North Carolina have announced the reallocation of about $7.7 million in economic stimulus funding to 12 communities for green drinking water projects and two communities for wastewater infrastructure projects.

Sewer Rate News
Denmark, South Carolina
Hot Springs, South Dakota
Webb City, Missouri

Tuesday’s Water News: Senator Cardin Urges Action on Senate Water Bill

bengann — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:56:18 +0000

Following the massive water main break this past weekend in the Baltimore suburb of Dundalk, Senator Ben Cardin took the Senate floor today urging action on the Water Infrastructure Financing Act (S. 1005) which would authorize $20 billion for the EPA’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund and $15 billion for its Drinking Water State Revolving Fund over the next five years.

Headlines
The high school in Decatur, Alabama was closed Tuesday morning because of a major water main break near the school that forced officials to cut off water to the school to make repairs to the 16-inch pipe.

In Georgia, some Houston County homeowners woke up with no water this morning after a water main break that also caused the pavement to rise causing a sinkhole.

Construction will begin Wednesday in Saint Joseph, Michigan to put in new sewer lines and water mains. The construction is the first of three phases to comply with the stae’s Department of Environmental Quality mandate to eliminate overflows and separate the storm runoff sewers from the sanitary sewers.

Stimulus Spotlight
Residents in Peterborough, New Hampshire will be able to vote on Wednesday at a special town meeting whether the town should accept federal stimulus funds for a proposed $1.16 million water system improvement project and $220,000 to construct a low impact development stormwater drainage system.

Sewer Rate News
Arma, Kansas
Mitchell, South Dakota
Silver Creek, New York
West Branch, Michigan

Friday Headlines: Sewage Spill to Close Beach for Remainder of Season

bengann — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 18:31:02 +0000

Shepard Park Beach in Lake George, New York, the site of a July 5 sewage spill, will close for the remainder of the season. The beach has been shut down ever since a pipe broke in the village’s main sewage pump station spewing nearly 10,000 gallons of pollution across the beach and into the lake.

Headlines
An investigation into a water main rupture that flooded a major road in Bethesda, Maryland last December has found that inspection records might have been thrown away, complicating efforts to determine why the main was installed improperly and whether other pipes have similar problems.

The borough of Manor, Pensylvania will pay a $4,500 fine to the state Department of Environmental Protection for a sewage overflow last December.

A $2.6 million project to construct a new clarifier at the regional wastewater treatment facility in Gautier, Mississippi is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Stimulus Spotlight
Ten South Dakota communities and one rural pipeline will be the last to benefit from the $36.5 million the state received in federal economic stimulus aid this yea to use for projects improving drinking water and sewer systems.

Sewer Rate News
Celina, Texas
Memphis, Tennessee
Rome, Georgia

Tuesday’s Water News: $1.9 Million Project Prevents Sewage From Flooding Homes

pjtabit — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 21:55:13 +0000

Residents of Dubuque, Iowa will soon rest more easily knowing that heavy rains will no longer lead to raw sewage flooding homes along a local creek. The $1.9 million project comes after the city faced fines resulting from violations of proper sewage treatment guidelines.

Headlines
Officials in Racine, Wisconsin are scrambling to clear debris from the city’s police station after a 130 year-old water main broke, flooding a parking garage and part of an office building.

Residents of the Zinno Community in Pueblo County, Colorado are suffering under 100 degree heat after a broken water pump interrupted service to 97 homes. Until repairs can be made, the population is relying on a water truck for drinking water.

Stimulus Spotlight
Graceville, Florida will receive $1.9 million in stimulus funds to improve the city’s sewage collection system. The funds are part of $212 million awarded to the state of Florida for drinking water and wastewater management projects.

Today the USDA announced $155 million in funding for water and wastewater infrastructure in 15 states. A total of 36 projects have been selected.

Governor Ed Rendell (D-PA) has announced a $1 billion investment in that state’s water and wastewater systems. The funding boost has come from leveraging and matching nearly $220 million in federal stimulus funds.

Sewer Rates
New Albany, Indiana
Graniteville, South Carolina
Menasha, Wisconsin