11.24.08
Monday Headlines: Chesapeake Bay Cleanup to Cost Pennsylvania $1.4 Bil.
Upgrading sewer treatment systems to meet Chesapeake Bay cleanup mandates will cost Pennsylvania municipalities an estimated $1.4 billion, according to a new state legislative study. The study by the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee was authorized by the state Senate to find out how much the Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy will cost to implement.
Headlines
Warning signs were posted Sunday after thousands of gallons of sewage spilled out of manholes in several areas across Honolulu. This weekend’s heavy rains are being blamed for the overflows.
Havelock, North Carolina experienced a spill of untreated wastewater of estimated 60,000 gallons today, an estimated 10,000 of which reached State waters.
About 600 gallons of raw sewage spilled Friday onto a seaside road about a quarter-mile south of Hobson County Park in Ventura, California.
A home in Lancaster, Kentucky may be a total loss after a sewage backup ruined the basement and part of the front lawn. A sewer pipe that serves about 40 homes in the area had blockage in it caused by rags that may have been caught in a crack in the pipe.
A water main break in Waynesboro, Virginia created a small sinkhole and forced an elementary school to shut down Monday.
Sewer Rate News
Benton Harbor, Michigan
Delaware, Ohio
10.22.08
Wednesday Headlines: Illinois City Works on Wastewater Plant Plans
The wastewater treatment facilities in South Beloit, Illinois are working beyond their intended capacities and commissioners say a new plant is a necessity. The system was designed to handle 3 million gallons but is currently processing 3.5 million gallons a day. This summer, the city ran more than 8 million gallons per day as the Rock River waters rose and ground levels increased because of land saturation.
Headlines
A water main break in Fenton, Michigan Saturday afternoon caused some flooding and the loss of nearly a million gallons of water. The city lost between 800,000 and 900,000 gallons of water before the main could be shut down.
The water is back on in downtown San Luis Obispo, California after city employees worked tirelessly to fix a water main break. A surge in the system caused a main to rupture and led to ruptures on several other adjacent streets.
Officials in Cape Charles, Virginia are simultaneously pursuing solutions to growing water and wastewater needs to meet future demand and a state-imposed deadline for a new treatment plant that lessens the impact to the Chesapeake Bay.
Representatives of rural water systems including a regional water project for north-central Montana stopped in the city of Havre to tell local elected officials and state legislative candidates about the need to increase funding for those projects.
Sewer Rate News
Missoula, Montana
Wenatchee, Washington
10.20.08
Monday Headlines: New Technology to Help Chico, Calif. Monitor Sewer System
New sewer monitoring technology will allow Chico, California to keep a better eye on its sewer system and plan ahead to avoid future problems. The meters will monitor the amount of water going through the sewer system, without having to pay someone to monitor the sewers during winter rainstorms.
Headlines
In New York, boaters and other Hudson River enthusiasts will need to take a break from the watertoday because Westchester County is planning to release 2 million to 3 million gallons of treated sewage through a Yonkers pump station in order to make a repair to the waste system.
A sinkhole slowed traffic on U.S. 1 in Woodbridge, Virgnia on Saturday. A split water main caused the hole to form around 8 a.m., leaving a gas station in the area without water. Traffic was reduced to only two lanes - one southbound and one northbound.
Broken water mains in Watchung, New Jersey forced affected residents to boil their water on Saturday.
Government officials and financial experts are warning that a freeze in the market for municipal bonds could cause major delays nationwide in government projects as basic as replacing water pipes.
Sewer Rate News
Brockton, Massachusetts
Clearlake Oaks, California
Crescent City, California
Libertyville, Illinois
Ocheyedan, Iowa
10.07.08
Tuesday Headlines: Sacarmento Looks to Upgrade its Sewer System
District officials are recommending that the Sacramento Area Sewer District board spend millions of dollars installing new hardware and cleaning lines to prevent costly sewage overflows. In recent years, the number of claims against the district - most often a result of raw sewage spilling into a home - has tripled. In 2007, the district paid $3.1 million in settlements.
Headlines
A water main break in Alexandria, Virginia left four high-rise apartment buildings without water from 1 a.m. to 9 a.m. this morning.
A broken water main shut down part of Atlantic Street in Bridgeton, New Jersey for much of the day on Monday. “That’s just another old section that we have,” said Department of Water and Sewer Superintendent John Wuzzardo. “We had to replace 13 feet of main. … Just old pipe. Not much we can do. I don’t know how old that section is, but we have 100-year-old pipe.”
In New York City, Department of Environmental Protection officials are monitoring a water main break that has shut down several streets and one entrance to the Holland Tunnel. City officials also say flooding may have undermined the integrity of part of the street.
Sewer Rate News
Honesdale, Pennsylvania
Lincoln, Illinois
Lynn, Massachusetts
Oneida, Illinois
09.19.08
Friday Headlines: Chicago to Release Report on Massive Sewer Overflow
The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Chicago (MWRD) is on the verge of releasing a report on the billions of gallons of stormwater overflow that were released into Lake Michigan as part of its efforts to fight flooding during last weekend’s torrential rains. MWRD estimates that approximately 90 billion gallons of water were released into Lake Michigan because of last weekend’s storms.
Headlines
In Michigan, the Saginaw Wastewater Treatment Plant also reports that a a record 178.7 million gallons of sewage flowed to the Saginaw River following last weekend’s storms. The plant experienced two overflow events during the weekend, when the area was deluged by the remnants of Hurricane Ike.
York Central School in York, New York is closed today because of a water main break, which has compromised the water pressure in the school.
A water main break in downtown Lynchburg, Virginia tied up traffic for several hours Thursday as city utility workers repaired the pipe. Utilities Director Timothy Mitchell said the break occurred in a 12-inch water main releasing between 1 million and 2 million gallons of water.
In Pennsylvania, the Elizabeth Township Sanitary Authority will pay a $20,000 civil fine for allowing tens of millions of gallons of untreated sewage to flow into the Youghiogheny River, and will eventually shut down its malfunctioning treatment plant and pump its sewage to a planned new treatment facility in McKeesport.
Sewer Rate News
Grant, Nebraska
Pinellas Park, Florida
09.10.08
Wednesday Headlines: Ellwood City, Penn. Deals with Huge Sinkhole
Engineers will meet with Ellwood City, Pennsylvania officials this week to determine how to deal with an enormous sinkhole. The sinkhole, approximately 10 feet wide by 70 feet long, occurred less than two weeks ago along a stormwater drainage line.
Water leaked out of the 100-foot-long pipe, which carries water out of the borough’s storm system down to Connoquenessing Creek, and eroded the ground, creating the sinkhole.
Headlines
In Pennsylvania, Elizabeth Township board of commissioners and the Elizabeth Township Sanitary Authority have approved their end of a consent agreement with the Allegheny County Health Department to remedy sewage overflow problems at a sewage treatment plant.
A second grease buildup for Greenville, North Carolina in as many days sent more sewage into the Tar River on Monday night. “Grease is the major cause of problems we find in sewer lines,” said Troy Perkins, the city’s water/sewer systems superintendent. “The best way to prevent sewer spills is to never pour grease down the drain.”
All classes at Tarrant County College’s Northeast Campus in Hurst, Texas have been cancelled for today after a major water main break near campus.
The break of a 20-inch water main in Arlington, Virginia affected service to 100 homes, disrupted traffic and rerouted a local bus.
Some south Snohomish County, Washington residents were advised to boil their tap water after a water main broke early Tuesday. When water outages occur, certain bacteria may contaminate water systems, posing a health risk to young children and people with weakened immune systems, hence the need to boil water.
Sewer Rate News
Beaumont, Texas
Bedford, Indiana
Milford, Massachusetts
Tuscola, Illinois
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
08.12.08
Tuesday Headlines: Year-Long Water Main Break Irks Flint, Mich. Residents
In Michigan, a year-long water main break has angered residents on Flint’s north side. The water main has been leaking for more than a year forcing cars to dodge barriers. The city is working on a plan to repair it but will cost at least $60,000.
Headlines
Residents in Lynchburg, Virginia will have to adjust to traffic delays the next few weeks because of a massive citywide combined sewer overflow project.
A water main break early this morning in Chester County, Pennsylvania gave motorists on Route 202 a major headache during this morning’s rush hour.
Several Billings, Montana streets filled with water Monday morning after a water main burst downtown. The broken water main was 70 years old and had signs of corrosion.
In Kermit, Texas, a new state mandated $4.5 Million water treatment plant is doubling the monthly water bill but the city says the plant is unnecessary.
Sewer Rate News
Chesterton, Indiana
Westminster, Maryland
08.04.08
Monday Headlines: Beach Closure on Siesta Key
On Saturday, red warning flags and signs were posted that said Gulf water off Siesta Public Beach in Sarasota, Florida was unsafe for swimming due to high levels of bacteria, more than double the acceptable level for safe swimming. The spike in bacteria levels is being attributed to recent rains that brought polluted storm water to the coast.
Headlines
Much of the city of Kenosha, Wisconsin had no water overnight because of a water main break.
Forsyth, Georgia officials have the water system up and running again following a water main break, but residents are encouraged to continue boiling water before consuming it.
In Texas, the Austin Water Utility has completed repairs to a 20 inch water main that broke Friday evening. Approximately 12 feet of pipe was removed and replaced. To compound the issue there were several additional utilities that crews had to work around to make the repairs, such as gas lines.
The Philadelphia Eagles had their 2 and 1/2 hour practice cancelled Saturday morning after a water main break near the practice fields.
Sewer Rate News
Medford, Massachusetts
Mineral, Virginia
08.01.08
Friday Headlines: Fmr. Director Admits He Failed to Report Sewage Spill
In Missouri, a spill that poured thousands of gallons of raw sewage into Lake of the Ozarks was not reported by the man in charge of doing so. The former Public Works Director for the city of Lake Ozark has admitted to failing to report a sewage spill of 10,000-15,000 gallons to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
Headlines
Two water main breaks blocked roads on the east side of Cleveland, Ohio this morning. The breaks were caused by aging pipes.
Arlington, Virginia residents are being told to avoid water near a bicycle trail after sewage spilled into an adjacent stream.
The New York Times picks up on the “Today Show” story from earlier in the week. Perhaps the most relevant point mentioned in the article, storm water is the largest cause of beach closures and advisories in the United States.
Smoke testing of Peru, Illinois’ sanitary sewer system has showed significant breaks, enough to begin accounting for high water flows in sewage pipes instead of storm water pipes after heavy rains.
Sewer Rate News
Globe, Arizona
Newberry, Florida
