11.21.08
Friday Headlines: Town in Maine Looks to Repair Water Main Under I-95
Looking to repair a water main break under Interstate 95, the Board of Selectmen in Seabrook, Maine are considering replacing the main using directional drilling technology to pull a new pipe through a bore hole. The 12-inch, 350-foot water main remains shut off after it broke in two places in November 2007 and the cost of repair is estimated at $235,700.
Headlines
Town officials in Meyersdale, Pennsylvania are busily trying to figure out how to pay for $1.4 million in state mandated sewer work. The sewer work includes dredging sludge out of lagoons at the treatment plant, correcting combined sewer overflow problems and installing flow meters.
Customers of the Grand Rapids, Michigan water and sewer systems will face big rate increases next year, thanks to expansive upgrades and the defection of five suburbs from its sewer system. The average city resident will get a quarterly water and sewer bill of $168.10, an 8.2 percent jump over this year.
A broken water main in Chester, Vermont left some residents without water last night and forced the closure of a local high school for today.
For more than a week, the left lane of a key San Francisco artery has been closed by orange cones and sawhorses. The sinkhole, formed because of a broken sewer main, needs major repair. and patching the hole is in advisable because the hole might return and cause serious damage to a vehicle.
Sewer Rate News
Arkadelphia, Arkansas
Coldwater, Michigan
El Dorado, Arkansas
Sayre Borough, Pennsylvania
11.13.08
Thursday Headlines: State of Michigan Forces City to Upgrade Sewer System
The city of Marysville, Michigan is poised to spend about $25 million to correct problems with its water and sewer systems. The plan would increase the capacity at the wastewater treatment plant from 2.4 million gallons a day to 3.4 million gallons a day, build an underground sanitary-sewer storage tank to reduce overflows, rehabilitate aging or damaged sewer lines and make general improvements to the water and wastewater treatment plants.
Headlines
A water main break in New Orleans has collapsed a large section of a woman’s front yard, including parts of her driveway, sidewalk and flower bed.
Nether Providence, Pennsylvania has provided the state Department of Environmental Protection with a detailed response on a sizable overflow that occurred in mid-September. The correspondence includes a plan by the township to prevent future incidents, which would spend more than $330,000 on an assortment of initiatives, including equipment purchases, repairs and monitoring programs.
A combination of recent rains and a plugged sewer line caused a sewage spill in Davenport, Iowa late Tuesday and early Wednesday.
A recent engineering analysis has revealed that a 250-foot section of century-old ceramic sewer pipe owned by the City of Barre Town, Vermont, and located more than a mile from a proposed residential development, will have to be replaced in order to handle the wastewater generated by more than five dozen new single-family homes.
Sewer Rate News
Camp Hill, Pennsylvania
Memphis, Missouri
Portage County, Ohio
09.29.08
Monday Headlines: Vermont Town Looks to Improve Aging Water System
In November, residents in Ludlow, Vermont will be asked to approve a $3.5 million bond to improve the town’s aging water system that would raise their annual water bills by 57 percent. The bond would be financed through a 40-year loan from USDA Rural Development at 2.7 percent with an annual payment $142,700.
Headlines
City crews are still working on a water main break that dried up service to homes and businesses yesterday in Mountain View, California. The age of the pipe–which is 75 years old– is believed to be the cause of the break. (picture courtesy of KFMB)
Officials in Cincinnati had a watery mess to clean up Sunday night. Public works crews had to turn the water off in the area and shut down a major thoroughfare for several hours.
An interesection in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania is expected to remain closed until this afternoon while crews make repairs to a water line break that was discovered early today.
A water main break in El Paso, Texas Friday night flooded a gas station and convenience store. The water continued to stream onto the property for more than two hours before water crews showed up to turn it off.
Sewer Rate News
Kirkwood, New York
Tarpon Springs, Florida
08.13.08
Wednesday Headlines: Sewage Spill Closes Shoreline in Long Beach
A sewage spill in Long Beach, California has forced authorities to close a nearly four-mile stretch of shoreline, and the area is expected to remain closed indefinitely. Close to 20,000 gallons of sewage flowed into the Los Angeles River via Compton Creek on Tuesday afternoon, caused by a broken sewer line near Watts.
Headlines
A broken water main ripped open a massive sinkhole on a residential street in Wilder, Vermont Saturday night. Neighborhood residents were without water as the highway department worked through the night to fill the hole and fix the street.
In Virginia Beach, a water main break sent thousands of gallons of gushing water high enough to knock out a transformer on a power pole on Monday. The break occurred in front of Claudette Ellis’ home damaging her roof, ceiling and carpets.
A blocked line at the wastewater treatment facility in Plainview, Texas caused 300,000 gallons of wastewater to overflow into the aeration basin at the facility. The city’s quick response as well as the facility not being in a populated area are being given credit for keeping this incident from becoming a public health hazard.
Sewer Rate News
Amherst, Virginia
Marana, Arizona
Fillmore, California
07.21.08
Monday Headlines: Overflows Cost Sewer Systems $35 Million in Fines
Between January 2003 and February 2008, at least one-third of the nation’s large, publicly owned sewage treatment systems have been penalized by the EPA or state regulators for sewage spills or other violations. Total fines amounted to $35 million. The fines were assessed against 494 of the nation’s 4,200 municipal facilities that treat at least 1 million gallons of sewage daily.
Headlines
A major sinkhole caused by a water main break made this morning’s commute more difficult in Timonium, Maryland. Thousands of gallons of water rushed out of a broken 12-inch pipe at approximately noon on Saturday.
In Michigan, a Grand Rapids intersection was shut down Saturday night after a water main break flooded the roadway.
Homeowners living in the Spokane Valley area of Washington state woke up to flooding Friday morning after a water main break.
Sewer Rate News
Cedartown, Georgia
Locust, North Carolina
Manteca, California
Rutland, Vermont
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
06.10.08
Tuesday Headlines: Water Main Break Closes Virginia Mall
An early morning water main break at the Valley Mall in Harrisonburg, Virginia forced management to close most of the stores Monday. The break also left some residents without water for hours on a day of record-breaking heat.
Headlines
In Washington, the Spokane County Public Defender’s office was shut down this morning because of a sewer backup.
The city of Racine, Wisconsin had about 7.8 million gallons of sewer system overflow during the weekend, according to unofficial preliminary results.
The cost to bring Appleton, Wisconsin’s troubled water treatment plant to promised production goals is estimated to be $11 million.
Sewer Rate News
Manatee County, Florida
Montpelier, Vermont
Pasadena, California
06.03.08
Tuesday Headlines: Ga. City to Pay Fines for Sewage Spills
The city of East Point will pay a $170,000 fine for dozens of spills over the past few years that released millions of gallons of raw sewage into area creeks.
Headlines
In Montgomery County, Virginia, near Blacksburg, a water main break has washed out part of the road narrowing traffic to just one lane. Officials say the age of the piping caused the break.
In North Carolina, some Cumberland County commissioners would like to see more money for clean drinking water added to an already tight budget proposal unveiled Monday.
The EPA may require Vermont wastewater treatment plants be beefed up unless the state decides to take action.
In Washington, an electrical problem at Fort Lewis’ wastewater treatment plant resulted in the accidental release of up to 180,000 gallons of partially treated wastewater into Puget Sound between 11 p.m. Sunday and 2 a.m. Monday.
Sewer Rate News
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Boonsboro, Maryland
La Puente, California
Springfield, Massachusetts
