07.09.09
Thursday’s Water News: Seattle Main Break Releases 860,000 Gallons of Water
A water-pipe break on Harbor Island in Seattle Wednesday evening released 860,000 gallons of water, flooding railroad tracks and a freight-storage building.
Headlines
A $4 million sewer line project proposed for the Rattlesnake area of Missoula, Montana will go to the Missoula City Council next week. The sewer line would convert more than 300 residential properties from septic to a sewer main.
About 11,000 residents in Fredonia, New York are being advised to boil their water today because of a water main break there Wednesday night.
Stimulus Spotlight
Officials in Smyrna, Delaware have approved contracts funded by $3.7 million in federal stimulus dollars to upgrade the town’s drinking water system. In the first phase, George and Lynch Inc. will replace six valves in a 10-inch water main from a water tower. Then Sprig Construction will replace a two-inch water main in the town.
The city of Fort Wayne, Indiana has received a $1.5 million stimulus grant and a $3.5 million low-interest loan, which will be used to finance three sewer separation projects.
Sewer Rate News
Bethlehem, West Virginia
Corsicana, Texas
Des Plaines, Illinois
06.17.09
Wednesday’s Water News: Water Main Break Washes Out Road in Monitor Township (Mich.)
A major road in Monitor Township, Michigan will remain closed until some time tomorrow after a break in a 36-inch water main washed out part of the road. It is likely that the age of the main–installed in the 1940’s–was partially responsible for the break.
Headlines
It took Spartanburg (S.C.) Water crews more than 10 hours Monday and Tuesday to clean up more than 94,000 gallons of raw sewage from a small creek.
The city of Essexville, Michigan has reported a combined sewer overflow from its wastewater treatment plant into the Saginaw River.
Stimulus Spotlight
Money from the economic stimulus package continues to reach down to southwest Colorado for infrastructure projects. The latest project to receive funding is in the town of Norwood. where they have been awarded a $540,000 grant to fix its water system.
Sewer tunnels in Cobb and Gwinnett counties are among $91.5 million in water and sewer projects statewide that the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority approved at its board meeting Tuesday. Of the 11 projects, five are at least partially backed by $40.5 million in federal stimulus money
Sewer Rate News
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
Vero Beach, Florida
Waterford Township, Michigan
Williamstown, West Virginia
06.16.09
Tuesday’s Water News: Dover (N.J.) Residents Without Water After Main Break
A water main break in Dover, New Jersey left about 500 residents in three towns with low pressure or no pressure today. The town administrator speculates it was wear that caused the eight-inch main to crack.
Headlines
In Fort Wayne (IN), a water main break caused a portion of a street to close causing city utility crews to work to repair the break.
Holbrook, Arizona has been given 30 daysto file approximately two years worth of missing reports related to wastewater treatment and disposal. The city was either late or failed to submit reports describing the quality of treated wastewater, mainly used for irrigation.
The Department of Health & Environmental Control in Columbia, South Carolina is investigating another case of sewage overflow in the city. Some of the overflow may have ended up in the Columbia Canal and the Congaree River which still hold warning signs for elevated bacteria levels found earlier this year.
Stimulus Spotlight
The federal government on Monday awarded $185 million in stimulus money to the state of Massachusetts for projects aimed toward improving drinking water and the treatment of wastewater. The money will create new opportunities and jobs but a figure cannot be given as to how many will be created.
Sewer Rate News
Melrose, Massachusetts
Tampa Bay, Florida
Marietta, Ohio
Morgantown, West Virginia
06.10.09
Wednesday’s Water News: Charlotte Water Main Break Causes Sinkhole, Closes Road
Work crews in Charlotte, North Carolina are working to fix a sinkhole after a water pipe burst on Tuesday creating the hole. The sinkhole was discovered when a driver stopped at the intersection thought she had a flat tire only to realize her front tire was in the sinkhole. The road remains closed to traffic.
Headlines
A water main break in Evansville, Indiana shut down a road on the city’s west side, causing water to gush onto the street and disrupting services to several neighboring homes.
In Saginaw, Michigan, more than 9 million gallons of partially treated sewage was discharged to the Saginaw River last week from a combined sewer overflow.
A 12-inch water main break in a Staten Island neighborhood left 100 residents and 30 businesses without water this morning.
Stimulus Spotlight
Camden, New Jersey will receive $13.5 million from the economic stimulus package to repair its water and sewer system. The city’s public works director says Camden could use $50 million for water and sewer upgrades but there’s no money to repay traditional loans in order to complete that work.
The California water districts of Coachella Valley and Mission Springs have received word that $1.3 million will be available to them to fund drinking water projects.
Sewer Rate News
East Dundee, Illinois
Huntington, West Virginia
Newburgh, Indiana
05.27.09
Wednesday’s Water News: Norwich, Conn. Raising Rates to Finance Repairs
Norwich, Connecticut sewer users will receive a 40 percent hike in their sewer bills effective July 1 as the city embarks on a massive modernization effort on its wastewater treatment plant and other aging facilities.
Headlines
Friday is the earliest a boil order can be lifted for the city of Brazil, Indiana after a break in an 18-inch water line.
The village of Plover, Wisconsin is planning a $9.2 million upgrade to its wastewater treatment plant. The work is needed to help the plant handle a steady increase in users.
Stimulus Spotlight
The state of Florida is setting aside about $13 million in federal stimulus loans for building an estimated $15.5 million in drinking water and sewer projects in Vero Beach, Florida starting this fall.
In West Virginia, Huntington City Council must adopt a 23 percent sewer rate increase by early June or risk losing an opportunity for federal stimulus dollars. The city’s current rate does not meet the application requirements for federal stimulus funding that the state received for sewer projects earlier this year.
Sewer Rate News
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Hendersonville, North Carolina
Morgantown, West Virginia
05.26.09
Tuesday’s Water News: Momentum Grows to Stop Sewer Overflows into Saginaw River
In Michigan, momentum is growing to stop sewage overflows into the Saginaw River although many cities are operating within their federal discharge permits.
Headlines
The Indiana Department of Environmental Managementhas issued a construction permit to the city of Muncie for improvements to a local life station.
County Health officials say rain pushed more than 30,000 gallonsof raw sewage into the streets of Bayou la Batre, Louisiana over the Memorial Day weekend.
On Friday, a water main break in Sandy, Utah sent water and rocks flying through the air.
Stimulus Spotlight
Water and sewer projects in Vermont will tap into $40 million in federal stimulus funding this year for needed system upgrades. The money, awarded as low-interest loans, will jump-start about 80 shovel-ready projects statewide.
Sewer Rate News
Long Beach, California
Marion, Ohio
Mason, West Virginia
Santa Clarita, California
05.12.09
Tuesday Headlines: Next BIG Sewer Project Scheduled in Portland, Ore.
Work is scheduled to begin next month on a massive sewer project in the Northwest Portland, Oregon industrial area as part of the city’s Big Pipe program.
Headlines
An eight-inch water-main break in Phoenix Tuesday afternoon has closed streets and left multiple homes with little or no water.
Service is expected to be restored Tuesday after a water main break in El Cajon, California. The burst 12-inch main spewed water causing the road and sidewalk to buckle.
Wisconsin state officials say municipal water construction projects will get a $143 million boost from federal stimulus funding. The application deadline is June 30, and priority is to go to projects ready to proceed to construction in 12 months or sooner.
Holly Springs, North Carolina will receive $81,600 in federal stimulus money for a solar-powered mixer to maintain water quality in one of the Town’s elevated storage tanks.
Sewer Rate News
Fruitland, Maryland
Hampshire, Illinois
Wheeling, West Virginia
05.04.09
Monday Headlines: Water Main Break Floods Sacramento Elementary School
A water main break at an elementary school in Sacramento, California flooded the campus, parking lot, and streets Monday morning. Staff members were bringing in sandbags to protect the other classrooms in the flooded areas.
Headlines
The recent heavy rains in Owosso, Michigan have caused sewage overflows of apprximately 500,000 gallons as a result of excessive storm water runoff.
About 120,000 gallons of sewage spilled this morning in Austin, Texas after a break in a 12-inch wastewater line.
A combined sewer overflow that started April 25 in Grand Rapids, Michigan continues to affect the Grand River in Ottawa County, and the heavy rains have washed a considerable amount of sediment and contamination into the river.
Stimulus Spotlight
Two communities in Pinal County, Arizona will receive about $6.3 million in stimulus funds to complete water-related projects. Most of the funds will be distributed by the state Water Infrastructure Finance Authority, which provides low-interest loans and grants. Projects in Pinal County will create or sustain 39 jobs, according to project estimates.
Sewer Rate News
Grand Island, Nebraska
Washington County, Maryland
Wheeling, West Virginia
04.29.09
Wedesnday Headlines: Another Major Water Main Break in the Baltimore Area
A water main break in Halethorpe, Maryland this morning forced six area schools to close, halted MARC and Amtrak train services up and down the Penn Line and affected the water supply in Baltimore and Howard counties.
Headlines
Steady rains and water-logged ground have caused sewage spills in three separate parts of Genesee County, Michigan dumping more than 6 million gallons of diluted sewage overflow into the Flint River.
The faucets are running again for people in Lake Monticello, Virginia after a water main break left homes without water Wednesday morning.
Stimulus Spotlight
Water and wastewater projects in New Mexico soon will be receiving $43.2 million in federal stimulus funds. The money is coming from the USDA’s Rural Development Water and Environmental Programs (WEP) to provide water and wastewater infrastructure funding for rural communities.
Both West Virginia and Virginia are also getting millions in federal stimulus money from the USDA’s WEP to help rural communities provide safe drinking water and improve wastewater treatment systems. West Virginia is receiving $65 million to help 20 communities and Virginia is receiving $11 million to help four communities.
Sewer Rate News
Avon Park, Florida
Mount Washington, Kentucky
Plymouth, Massachusetts
04.21.09
Tuesday Headlines: Rhode Island Town May Suspend Sewer Expansion
The Town Administrator of North Smithfield, Rhode Island has asked the Town Council to suspend a controversial town sewer expansion project for up to 60 days in response to criticism over the project’s cost. Some homeowners have voiced concerns about the long-term cost of the project, which is being financed by a $21-million sewer bond approved by voters in 2007.
Headlines
New Hampshire Governor John Lynch has announced that a total of 108 drinking water and wastewater projects will be partially funded by money from the economic stimulus.
The city of Lorain, Ohio will spend $3 million on the final phase of an Ohio EPA-mandated project to deal with the delivery and storage of sewage.
Works crews have finished cleaning up a 14,000- gallon sewage spill in Winterville, North Carolina after a small split in a sewer pipe sent raw sewage onto a pathway and into an adjacent canal.
The Bureau of Reclamation will spend $1 billion in federal stimulus money on water-infrastructure projects, including about $88 million in the state of Arizona.
Sewer Rate News
Jacksonville, Florida
Manteno, Illinois
Pontiac, Illinois
Star City, West Virginia
