10.31.08
Friday Headlines: Investigative Report Looks at Indianapolis Sewer System
Indianapolis TV station WTHR has done an investigation into the amount of untreated sewage entering Marion County’s waterways. As you might imagine the report raises questions and concerns regarding how to get the problem under control. And if you were wondering whether federal funding is needed for cities like Indianapolis here is this quote from the story.
To pay for the deep tunnels and other improvements that will help reduce Indianapolis’ combined sewer overflows, the cost is an estimated $3.5 billion.
For Marion County residents, it means the average $15 sewer portion of a current water bill is expected to jump to $100 each month.
And here’s an eye opening statistic.
All together, about 40 billion gallons of combined sewer overflow are dumped into Indiana waterways each year.
10.14.08
Tuesday Headlines: As Funding Decreases Tennessee’s Needs Grow
There is a growing gap between badly needed improvements to Tennessee’s water and wastewater infrastructure and the funding to complete those projects, according to a recent study conducted by the Tennessee Infrastructure Alliance.
According to the Tennessee Advisory Committee on Intergovernmental Relations, the cost of 1,773 needed water system improvement projects increased by $349 million between 2004 and 2005 to a total of $3.3 billion. The report also points out, available funding for such projects is dropping. State revolving funds have dropped by 33 percent between 2004 and 2006 and federal funding has dropped by nearly 79 percent since 1980.
Headlines
Some Jersey City residents are advised to boil their water after a break in a 30-inch water main early Tuesday morning. Residents in the affected area can expect lower than normal water pressure or even no water in high rise buildings. Repairs are expected to take most of the day.
A water main break in Robbins, Illinois forced three schools to close Tuesday morning. Robbins police say the water main erupted Monday night. They expect to have water restored Tuesday afternoon.
It is unclear if a Rite Aid in Yakima, Washington will reopen today after a water main ruptured twice outside the store on Monday. Officials noted that between 25,000 and 30,000 gallons of water was lost during the first break.
A broken water main under Grand Avenue in Wausau, Wisconsin forced the closure of the northbound lane this morning.
Sewer Rate News
Ambridge, Pennsylvania
DuBois, Pennsylvania
Oakwood, Illinois
Prichard, Alabama
Woodstock, Ohio
09.30.08
Tuesday Headlines: New Documentary Tells Story of Water Infrastructure
A new documentary by Penn State Public Broadcasting focused on the need to reinvest in our Nation’s water infrastructure will begin airing this week on many local PBS stations. Liquid Assets: The Story of Our Water Infrastructure, is a 90-minute documentary that tells the story of our largely out of sight, out of mind water, wastewater and stormwater systems.
Below is a four-minute trailer of the documentary, click here to check your local listings and see when the documentary will be shown in your area.
Headlines
The effects of time, hydrogen sulfide gas, fats, oils and grease have cost residents in Collierville, Tennessee $248,000 to repair two miles of sewer pipe.
A no-contact advisory was issued yesterday for Wolf Lake in Egelston Township, Michigan, after raw sewage leaked from a nearby transmission line. The break in a 16-inch line resulted in sewage seeping into the wetlands west of the lake.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources issued a boil advisory for the City of Cresco last week after officials reported a water line rupture. Several area businesses and schools were forced to close for a day and city residents were advised not to drink water straight from the tap.
In New Jersey, Hanover Township officials are threatening to issue a stop work order or file a lawsuit to halt work on the solar panel project at the Morristown wastewater treatment facility unless township inspectors are given access to the project.
Sewer Rate News
Galveston, Texas
Tiffin, Ohio
07.29.08
Tuesday Headlines: Report Says Beach Closures Rose in 2007
This morning, the “Today Show” took a look at the increase in beach closures from stormwater and raw sewage. A new report released today shows that 2007 had the second highest number of beach closings and advisories in the nation’s history. USA Today did a story today on the same topic this morning.
Headlines
In Holyoke, Massachusetts, heavy rain storms have resulted in sewage being discharged into the Connecticut River without being treated on four occasions in the past five weeks. Yet, this is a vast improvement compared to what took place before an $18 million treatment plant to process overflow water was installed in October of last year.
The small community of Indian Heights, Indiana (near Kokomo), is in the process of overhauling its sewer system. Between the new lift station, the force main, and the repairs to the sewers, the city is expected to make an investment of more than $700,000.
A broken water main flooded the intersection of a Charleston, South Carolina street Monday night, causing a drop in water pressure for some residents.
In Ohio, a judge has ruled Holmes County has until September 22 to draft a plan that will bring it out of contempt of a 1998 consent agreement with the Ohio EPA.
Sewer Rate News
Baxter, Tennessee
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
07.25.08
Friday Headlines: KC Gets Extension for Sewer System Plan
Kansas City has received a six-month extension to submit its plan to federal authorities for overhauling its sewer system. The city wanted the extension from the EPA and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources in order to incorporate more “green” solutions in its sewer pollution problems.
Headlines
In Novato, California, clean up has begun on a sewage spill that came out of a manhole and went into a storm drain that empties into Novato Creek. A grease blockage caused the sewer backup.
Wichita Water Department workers worked into the night repairing three water main breaks that were impeding traffic and disrupting service to several homes.
Many residents in the Heights section of Houston were without water after a water main break. The water main break created a sinkhole that was nearly 10 feet deep, that a garbage truck struck, rupturing the truck’s oil pan and spilling oil all over the road.
In North Carolina, the North Coast Regional Water Board has fined the Fort Bragg Municipal Improvement District for “discharges of partially treated and untreated wastewater from its sanitary sewer system.”
Sewer Rate News
Gloucester, Pennsylvania
Hamilton County, Tennessee
Manteca, California
06.27.08
Friday Headlines: Old Pipe in Ohio Breaks Disrupting Water Service
An early morning water main break in Harrison Township, Ohio disrupted water service to about 60 homes and businesses in the area and created a large sink hole in the street. The 10-inch water supply pipe that broke had been installed in the early 1950s, and its age might have been a factor in causing the break.
Headlines
In South Carolina, a 13th Circuit judge denied the City of Simpsonville’s request to dismiss lawsuits brought against the city by two residents over a sewer overflow that flooded their houses in September 2006.
In Albany, Georgia, state transportation officials say that it could take crews until the Independence Day weekend to re-open a highway damaged by a burst water main.
The State of Tennessee has served Dyer County Sheriff Jeff Holt with a notice of violation for an unauthorized sewer discharge from the jail sewer.
Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and state lawmakers are negotiating a state budget that would pump hundreds of millions of dollars into water and sewer construction projects.
Sewer Rate News
La Center, Washington
Milton-Freewater, Oregon
New Albany, Indiana
North Andover, Massachusetts
06.19.08
Thursday Headlines: Erie Canal Harbor Experiencing Sewer Overflows
The newly opened Erie Canal Harbor in Buffalo is experiencing sewer overflows despite a $53 million makeover. A disgusting mix of “floatables” has surfaced in the harbor’s centerpiece — the 184-year-old, rewatered Commercial Slip — following recent heavy rains.
Headlines
In Oregon, unless the Portland Water Bureau can circumvent new federal clean water rules, the city may have to spend millions of dollars on a new water treatment plant.
Companies both big and small are finding their niche in the growing water treatment industry.
A water main break in Elliot, Pennsylvania made local streets look more like a small river.
Nearly two miles of beach in Long Beach, California is closed until further notice because of a sewage spill in Glendale.
Sewer Rate News
Atlanta, Georgia
Knoxville, Tennessee
Rutland, Vermont
Trumann, Arkansas
06.13.08
Friday Headlines: Mayors Tell Congress About Infrastructure Crisis
Four big-city mayors told the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday that they are overwhelmed by infrastructure needs and can’t maintain well-functioning water systems, and other infrastructure, without more federal help.
Headlines
A portion of Route 25A in Smithtown, New York was closed Friday afternoon after a water main burst and flooded the road.
Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell’s Sustainable Water Infrastructure Task Force is reviewing hundreds of public comments regarding ways the state can address its $20 billion shortfall of drinking water and wastewater systems funding,
The Maryland state Board of Public Works approved more than $1 million in grants for projects in Harford and Cecil counties that will improve water quality and supply in both jurisdictions, officials said.
Sewer Rate News
Baileyton, Tennessee
Batesville, Indiana
Pleasanton, California
06.04.08
Wednesday Headlines: Leaky Water Mains Costly for Bluff City, TN
A small city in east Tennessee, Bluff City, estimates that its leaky water main system has cost the municipality and its 1,620 residents a total of $50,000 in repairs over the past year.
Headlines
The municipal utilities in Fort Wayne, Inidiana is holding a series of meetings to inform customers about the city’s 18-year, $240 million plan to reduce sewer overflows into the city’s waterways after heavy rains.
In Maryland, Howard County officials are warning residents not to pour oil and grease down the drain as it has caused about half of the sewage spills in the county last year. “Although the state is working to upgrade the 66 major wastewater treatment plants to reduce pollution, residents also have to adjust to protect the environment,” said Shari Wilson, Secretary of the Maryland Department of the Environment.
Almost a month after East Berlin, Pennsylvania officials threatened to dissolve the borough’s new water/sewer authority, questions continue to linger about the fate of the agreement between the borough, Hamilton Township and developer C.W. Test.
Traffic on one of the city’s busiest streets in North Tonawanda, New York will see delays beginning Monday as crews begin replacing a stretch of water line.
Sewer Rate News
Ashland, Ohio
Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania
Prescott Valley, Arizona
06.03.08
Monday Headlines: Problems Statewide for TN Water Treatment Plants
Data provided by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Division shows that 68 publicly owned treatment works in the state are under some type of order to get their systems up to standards.
Headlines
Residents in Bremerton, Washington are being warned to avoid the waters of Oyster and Ostrich bays following a spill of raw sewage onto the beach.
In California, regulators have proposed levying six-figure fines against both Sacramento County and Placer County for sewage spills.
Sewer Rate News
Hopkinton, Massachusetts
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
New Albany, Indiana
