Rio Stinko: An equipment failure caused about 1,500 gallons of raw sewage to leak from a pumping station in Paso Robles, according to wastewater officials. Before the spill was contained, sewage leaked into a dry ravine and soaking into the ground, yummy! Health officials posted signs and yellow caution tape asking people to stay out of the immediate area for about two days. After that it will be dry sewage contaminated land. Great.
- May 10, 2008: SanLuisObispo.com - San Luis Obispo, CA

Utility Futility: More than 9,000 gallons of sewage overflowed into a Greeneville suburb in North Carolina. According to the NC Division of Water Quality, 9,478 gallons of raw sewage overflowed from a damaged 4 inch force main. The report also says it was damaged when New Bern's electric department was installing utilities in the area.
- May 13, 2008: WNCT.com - Greeneville, SC

At it Again: About 64,000 gallons of wastewater spilled into San Francisco Bay in Tiburon due to an overflow at an area treatment plant. The spill occurred because of a short circuit in a backup system, district manager Robert Lynch said. "I think we rely on technology too much sometimes," he said. I'm not quite sure what to make of that statement. To me it sounds like he's indicting himself. Is he nostalgic for Roman Aqueducts or straight pipes into Thames? I'd like to think that advances in sewer system tech are benefiting society. If the plant managers responsible for operating these systems can't keep up than maybe we need to find people who can.
- May 14, 2008: San Francisco Chronicle - San Francisco, CA

Mysterious Rupture?: More than 14,000 gallons of wastewater spilled into Little Sugar Creek near Uptown, NC last Thursday night. Vic Simpson, a spokesman for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities, said it was unclear why the pipe ruptured, but private contractors were excavating beside the more than 50 year-old pipe. I wonder??? "We have something like 3,800 miles of sewer line in this county," Simpson said. "Some of it is older and some of it ages out faster than others." Uptown's infrastructure includes some of the city's oldest water and sewer lines, although Simpson said age is not always a factor in a sewage pipe's failure. The city-run utility spends more than $100 million annually in upgrades and repairs, including the replacement of older pipes.
- May 15, 2008: WCNC - Charlotte, NC

Post It: Up to 11,000 gallons of raw sewage may have spilled into Hayden Lake near Cooper's Bay in Washington State this week because of a plugged pipe, caused by residents flushing diapers and baby wipes. Genius! A Hayden Lake Recreational Water and Sewer District employee discovered the leak Thursday morning. The area, which is near a marina, boat launch and condos was posted with warning signs to minimize the perception of the actual impact of the spill. Dive in!
- May 16, 2008: SpokesmanReview.com - Spokane, WA

"Oh it's, Horrible": Said Fannie May when asked about the sewage flooding her home. Spills of the Week just wouldn't be complete without at least one story of a basement back up. May, an Oberlin, LA resident, says since last December the sewage pump outside hasn't worked right. "This is the sewer pump that the city placed here and the water is just running out of it constantly." And that sewage started coming up inside her new bathroom coating everything with brown sludge.
- May 16, 2008: KPLC 7 News - Lake Charles, LA

Mount Un-Pleasant: Thousands of gallons of sewage were flowing onto a road in Mount Pleasant after a pipe broke. It took officials several hours to stop the sewage flow, and sewage had already started gathering on the road near the new waste water lagoon system. Following the link to see a really nice picture of the mess - uggh.
- May 16, 2008: WMSV Channel 4 News - Nashville, TN

Wastewater Everywhere: The Mid-Atlantic's been getting some pretty fierce storms these past couple weeks. When it rains sewage pours. In Charles County, MD three wastewater pump stations and two treatment plants over flowed. In Frederick, MD 180,000 gallons of sewage spilled into the Monocacy River. All told, close to 6.6 million gallons of untreated sewage spilled into tributaries of the Potomac River over the last week and a half.
- May 18, 2008: Southern Maryland Online - La Plata, MD
- May 16, 2008: The Examiner - Washington, DC
- May 16, 2008: The Independent - Waldorf, MD

Decayden Lake: It's just a little sewage come on it's not going to hurt you. Eye infections build character. Water quality tests in Hayden Lake near Olympia, WA showed elevated bacteria levels so officials warned the public to stay away.
- May 17, 2008: The Olympian - Olympia, WA