It's been a tough week for streams, creeks, rivers, lakes and oceans thus adding to the unfortunate doom and gloom that pervades the Slog from week to week. For this week's ‘Spills' topper I could have used the story about poop falling from the sky in Chicago, sewage diving in Nebraska, or the story in New Orleans of 126 out of 188 inspected businesses are violating their sewage discharge permits and are dumping raw sewage directly into nearby ditches and creeks, or anyone of California's weekly and sometimes daily beach closures due to sewage leaks, runoff, bypasses, and pump failures. However, amongst the messy world of sewage news I found a very encouraging story from Minnesota that I'd like to share instead. According to the Star Tribune, in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minneapolis has met its goal of "zero-discharge" into the Mississippi River. After years of infrastructure redevelopment and rigid enforcement of stringent storm water runoff diversion requirements, Minneapolis and St. Paul are seeing significant decreases in their discharges into the river. Beginning as far back as the 1960's, the city recognized that separation of storm water drains from the sanitary sewer systems was necessary to reduce wastewater pollution. Over the course of the last decade steady decreases in discharges have helped prove that the actions taken were working to reduce sewage pollution. The system isn't perfect but it is a step closer to keeping our communities safe from harmful pollutants. Congratulations to Minneapolis for having the foresight to act for a healthy river.

Now the Spills of the Week:

Dangerous Deluge: Runoff from the fierce storms that pounded the Pacific Northwest early in the week flushed millions of gallons of sewage into the Puget Sound watershed. Early reports to the Washington Department of Ecology indicated at least 350,000 to 600,000 gallons of raw sewage flowed into Lake Washington. Human waste bubbled through manholes at Myrtle Edwards Park on the city's waterfront and several beaches in the Hidden Lake neighborhood in Shoreline were closed after a pump failure resulted in similar spills. Officials estimated on Monday that about 7.6 million gallons of untreated wastewater gushed into Budd Inlet at the south end of Puget Sound from a treatment plant in Olympia. Rain events of that magnitude lead to no win situations when it comes to sewage. Had the runoff and untreated sewage not been released into waterways, it would have backed up into homes and businesses.
- December 7, 2007, The Bellingham Herald - Bellingham, WA

Hawaii 5-Oh No!: Beachgoers were told to stay out of the ocean after a mix of muddy runoff and wastewater overflowed into the ocean in Lahaina and Napili on the island of Maui in Hawaii. Health officials warned the public against entering any water contaminated by runoff. Maui marine specialists are concerned about the impact the spill will have on the coral reefs around the island. In Lahaina, an unknown amount of sewage was washed into the ocean after a spill from the Lahaina Wastewater Treatment Plant broke through a berm at Kaanapali's North Beach. The spill was caused by a surge during heavy rain. In Kahului, approximately 1,500 gallons of wastewater overflowed into a nearby roadway on Wednesday as intense rain hit the Kahului Wastewater Treatment Plant, which generated flows beyond the plant's capacity. "We're not going to recover from that for a long time," said Hannah Bernard of the Hawaii Wildlife Fund. "It will take months to clear off the reefs and in a situation like this. There could be permanent damage to our reefs. ...There were tons and tons of sediment flowing into the ocean."
- December 8, 2007: Maui News - Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii

Here We San Diego Again: A sewage overflow from a sanitation pipeline under Imperial Beach Fishing Pier was discovered Monday morning, according to the county Department of Environmental Health. It was unclear when the problem began and how much effluent entered the surf. Pollution warning signs will stand along the shore to the north and south of the pier until follow-up testing deems the area safe again for recreational uses.
- December 10, 2007: 10news.com, KGTV- San Diego, CA

Tainted PanTimonium: Baltimore County officials in Timonium warned residents to avoid the waters near a local sewer pumping station after a sewage leak on Sunday. Officials said that 40,000 gallons of sewage overflowed from a 12-inch pipe on East Padonia Road. Sewage was also discovered leaking from the nearby Merryman Branch Sewer Pumping Station. Utility crews worked throughout the day to repair the line. Department of Environmental Protection officials posted signs in the area advising residents to avoid contact with water in the Merryman Branch area.
- December 10, 2007: wbalTV.com, WBAL TV - Baltimore, MD

Not So Safeway: A backed up sewage pipe in the Del Rey Oaks Safeway caused the new store to shut down. This latest sewage problem comes as no surprise since it's the fourth sewage backup in the past month. The store was forced by the Monterey County's Environmental Health Department, to find a permanent solution before they could reopen. The backup happened inside the deli area and more than 200 pounds of food near the backup had to be discarded. The Deli was reopened at 7:00 Tuesday evening. Yummy!
- December 12, 2007, Fox 35, Santa Cruz, CA

Backed Up Break Up: Hays Utility South Corporation officials reported an estimated 170,000 gallon raw sewage sludge spill that Southern Montgomery County wastewater treatment officials deemed to cause no real harm to the environment. Uhhhh, excuse me! How is that possible? The spill occurred when a contractor accidentally backed over the valve on the digester drain line with his vehicle and than just drove off! The spill released wastewater onto nearby the land and into the receiving waters of a nearby stream.
- December 13, 2007: The Courier of Montgomery County, Houston Community Newspapers - Conroe, TX

Sump Pump Dump: An estimated 1 million gallons of raw sewage leaked into a creek south of Rock Hill over the weekend, killing fish and raising concerns about the safety of livestock downstream. The leak began late Saturday, but wasn't discovered until Monday morning, more than 30 hours after the leak started. "People noticed this stuff, but nobody called in," Utilities Director Jimmy Bagley said.
- December 13, 2007: heraldonline.com, The Herald - Rock Hill, SC

Wet Wrecked Waked Up!: Groggy from Nyquil, Eric Champion heard gurgling water and got out of bed. When he placed his bare feet on the floor, he realized something was wrong. He was ankle-deep in a putrid mixture of water, mud and sewage that was flowing out of his bathtub, toilet and sink. "It was coming out so hard, it was like a river," he said. A 6-inch cast iron water main had breached causing the rush of water and dirt from to damage a nearby sewage manhole and a sewage pipe causing the sewage to back up in his home. A city worker told Champion about 40,000 gallons had flowed through his house (Poor Guy!!!) before it was shut off at 2:20 a.m. I am willing to bet that Eric Champion had one of his worst night ever this week!
- December 12, 2007, Tallahassee Democrat, Tallahassee, TN