11.11.08
Tuesday Headlines: Fort Wayne Looks for Ways to Pay for Sewer Improvements
A $240 million plan to keep raw sewage out of Fort Wayne, Indiana’s rivers would triple local sewer rates unless a new source of funding is created, and has led to a discussion of a half-cent increase in the local sales tax to pay for almost the entire project.
Headlines
As winter approaches, Mid-Michigan’s infrastructure is crumbling but financial help will be tough to come by. “There’s no question that there’s a lot of work that needs to be done in communities across the state,” said Michigan DEQ spokesman Robert McCann.
In Pennsylvania, Meyersdale borough officials are beginning to dig into a pile of state-ordered sewer projects that cost about $1.4 million. “This is something just about every community is going through,” borough President Bud Edmunds said. “We are not unique.”
It looks like it will cost the City of Middletown, New York more to borrow money to repair its massive Sterling Street sewer problems. The city had hoped to secure an interest free loan but does not have sufficient points to qualify and may have to borrow money at a 4-4.5 percent interest rate to finance construction of the project.
Sewer Rate News
DuBois, Pennsylvania
Ottumwa, Iowa
Shelton, Washington
Wrightstown, Wisconsin
10.28.08
Tuesday Headlines: Redding, California Permanently Shuts of Water Main
The water main that blew a muddy geyser through the pavement of a road in Redding, California on Sunday will be permanently shut off. In August, the same 18-inch diameter pipe ruptured beneath a lawn on a high school campus.
Headlines
The people who live next to the sewage pump station in Hermitage, Pennsylvania where about 500,000 gallons of backed-up sewage leaked into the Shenango River earlier this month wanted answers Monday when they went to a meeting of the board that oversees the sewage system.
A water main break closed the eastbound lanes of busy thuroughfare in Denver early this morning. A 12-inch main broke at about 3:15 a.m. this morning and forced repair crews to close the busy road.
City crews in Kingston, New York, worked Monday to repair a sewer line that burst not far from the site of a 2004 collapse that sent raw sewage into the streets and front lawns. The sewer line which broke was about 100 years old.
Some Boulder, Colorado residents were without water Monday afternoon because of a main break. Drivers experienced detours and delays as an intersection was closed to repair the main.
Sewer Rate News
Clinton, Iowa
Menasha, Wisconsin
Rapid City, South Dakota
Sparta, Michigan
10.16.08
Thursday Headlines: Funding Needed for Washington, DC Sewage Plan
This Washington Post story is a couple of weeks old but is emblematic of the problem throughout the country. Water and sewer bills in the Nation’s capital will increase dramatically if the federal government does not bear the burden of a $2.2 billion sewage management plan mandated to reduce pollution of the region’s waterways. The project is required to meet the city’s obligations under the Clean Water Act.
Headlines
Scientific American takes a look at Milwaukee’s sewer system. Since 1994, a 26-mile deep water tunnel has been keeping Milwaukee’s sewage from spilling into Lake Michigan. The deep water tunnel is just one part of a $3-billion water pollution initiative that has also upgraded 400 miles of sewer infrastructure in Milwaukee and surrounding communities.
Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle has released $3.3 million for two state revolving funds, including $1,655,000 for the Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund and $1,671,000 for the Drinking Water Treatment Revolving Loan Fund.
A projected 100 percent to 125 percent increase in fees for sanitary sewer service and stormwater management caused concern among residents attending the city of Neenah, Wisconsin’s sixth annual town meeting.
Raw sewage is no longer flowing into the Shenango River from a Mercer County, Pennsylvania pump station. For several days, a broken line was dumping as much as 500,000 gallons of untreated waste into the river.
Sewer Rate News
Homer, Alaska
Muscle Shoals, Alabama
10.15.08
Wednesday Headlines: Sewer Overflow in Tampa Revised to 1.8 Million Gallons
An update on a story that appeared here last Wednesday about Tampa, Florida. Hillsborough County Water Resource officials have drastically revised the estimate on the amount of raw sewage that spilled from a broken pipeline last week. The initial estimate of 300,000 gallons of sewage poured into Sweetwater Creek has been revised to 1.8 million gallons.
Headlines
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is investigating a sizable overflow of sewage from a Nether Providence Township line into a Ridley Creek tributary last month. The discharge of the sewage into the waterway represents a violation of the state Clean Streams Law.
In Flordia, Miami-Dade County broke ground on water and sewer improvements to Palmetto Bay’s main commercial hub Friday, 10 years after business owners first started pushing for the changes. Palmetto Bay officials hope the $14 million project to provide water and sewer service to homes and businesses still on wells and septic tanks will attract more businesses to the southwestern corner of the village.
About $1.4 million in state mandated sewage projects have all but guaranteed higher sewer rates for residents in Meyersdale, Pennsylvania. Borough officials say sewer rate hikes are certain, but exact increases will not be calculated until they know how the projects will be financed.
Sewer Rate News
Germantown, Wisconsin
Muskegon, Michigan
Rubidoux, California
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
09.23.08
Tuesday Headlines: Pennsylvania Voters Asked to Approve Borrowing $400m to Upgrade Water, Sewer systems
When voters in Pennsylvania go to the polls on November 4, there will be a referendum on the ballot asking them to approve $400 million in debt to help upgrade the state’s water and sewer systems. Municipal authorities with problems involving water and sewer infrastructure, stormwater issues, flood control or high-hazard dams would be eligible to receive funding.
Headlines
in Chicopee, Massachusetts, about a dozen residents with flooded basements from continued sewer overflow problems have asked the city for help. Combined storm water and sewer lines that need to be separated are the primary cause of the overflows.
A 30-inch water main break in Tampa, Florida forced the city to close a section of North 22nd Street on Monday. Repairs to the pipe are underway but the road resurfacing won’t be completed until Wednesday. The city is asking drivers to seek alternate routes until restoration is completed.
A delegation from the City of Laurel, Mississippi is scheduled to meet with Governor Haley Barbour’s staff today to discuss the city’s aging water and sewer line problems. Earlier this year city officials met in Washington, D.C. with members of the Mississippi congressional delegation about the need for federal assistance in addressing the nation’s water infrastructure.
Mayor of Milwaukee Tom Barrett has sent a letter to Illinois Congressman Mark Kirk expressing concern over the massive sewer overflows caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ike. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago estimates that as much as 99 billion gallons of water was untreated during the heavy rains two weekends ago.
Sewer Rate News
DuBois, Pennsylvania
Helena, Montana
Saint Joseph, Michigan
09.22.08
Monday Headlines: Water Main Break Causes City to Almost Run Out of Water
Officials in Maple Plain, Minnesota were relieved last week after several hours of searching finally turned up a broken water line that had threatened to empty the city’s water tower. A ruptured 8-inch, dead-ended main situated behind an industrial park building was located and closed off from the rest of the water system with roughly a half-hour supply remaining at the city’s disposal.
Headlines
A $2.6 million project is underway in Hillsboro, Oregon to replace old sanitary sewer lines and add a separate storm water drainage system. The combination of the two will help keep stormwater out of the sewer lines during heavy rainfall.
Residents in a portion of Kirksville, Missouri were under a 48-hour boil order this weekend after a water main break on Friday.
The Butler Township Board of Supervisors has tentatively approved an upgrade of the storm water drainage system in Lavelle, Pennsylvania. A couple of months ago new water lines were put in and the township felt that it would also be a good time to update the storm water infrastructure.
State Route 10 in Cheshire, Connecticut should be opened in both directions this afternoon after a broken water main is fixed and the road patched up. A 12-inch water main underneath Route 10 broke Sunday night, sending water gushing and leaving a sinkhole in the road. Route 10 was shut down overnight but one lane was opened this morning.
Sewer Rate News
Eugene and Springfield, Oregon
Macedon, New York
Manteca, California
Sturtevant, Wisconsin
09.05.08
Friday Headlines: State Bailout is Latest Plan in a County’s Sewer Debt Crisis
A bailout plan by Alabama Governor Bob Riley to help Jefferson County avoid bankruptcy would limit annual rate hikes for customers to 2.85 percent. Since 1996, county sewer customers have seen their bills increase 329 percent. The plan calls for paying the banks everything they are owed but at lower interest rates. If the banks don’t agree to the proposal, the county will likely file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy.
Jefferson County has $3.2 billion in sewer debt it can’t fully pay. If the county opts for bankruptcy, it would be the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, easily surpassing the previous high of $1.6 billion set by Orange County, California in 1994.
Headlines
Leaders in Brownsburg, Indiana still lack answers for sewer problems that have plagued about 400 homeowners north of the town for more than five years. The town received a $3 million construction bid in June to extend sewers into the neighborhoods and is now working on a rate study to give those homeowners options on how to pay for the project.
The Common Council of Appleton, Wisconsin on Wednesday voted 14-2 to accept a consultant’s study recommending $11 million in improvements at the city’s water treatment plant. The study also includes a memo from the state Department of Natural Resources suggesting an additional $3 million in improvements to meet current and future environmental regulations.
Yesterday Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) co-hosted with Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson (R) a transportation and infrastructure discussion with about 40 local leaders in Boise. “What is underground is in worse shape than the bridges,” said Blumenauer. “72,000 miles of the nation’s water and sewer pipes are over 80 years of age, dating back to (President Calvin) Coolidge.”
Sewer Rate News
McCook, Nebraska
Netarts, Oregon
08.27.08
Wednesday Headlines: Marin County’s Sewer Woes Continue
In California, signs posted along the Larkspur shoreline warn people to stay out of the water after yet another sewage spill in Marin County. The spill resulted from a burst pipe at the dock through which sewage is pumped from the ferries to the sanitary district. There have been at least a half dozen sewage spills in the North Bay so far in 2008.
Headlines
The city of Lake Ozark, Missouri has pleaded guilty to illegally discharging raw sewage into the Lake of the Ozarks, one of the state’s biggest tourists draws. Mayor Johnnie Franzeskos signed the plea agreement in federal court late Monday, requiring the city to pay a $50,000 fine.
In Wheeling, West Virginia, the city has had its third water main break downtown in a month. Many of the lines in the city are over 100 years old.
Wisconsin State regulators want the city of Appleton’s water utility to make $3 million available to pay for potential fixes to the city’s drinking-water treatment plant. The request by the state Department of Natural Resources is on top of $11 million in work called for in a consultant’s report to address problems with producing drinking water in cold weather.
The Village of Dexter is facing fines of about $25,000 from the Michigan state Department of Environmental Quality for inadequacies in its wastewater treatment plant operation dating back to 2005.
Sewer Rate News
Ansonia, Connecticut
North Attleboro, Massachusetts
Paris, Texas
Williamsburg, Iowa
Ok, I’m taking a few days off. Check back again on Tuesday, September 2.
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
