If someone put a drop of sewage in a glass of water, would you drink it? These are the types of questions the Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter asked its readers in response to Congressional testimony this week which revealed that 20 billion gallons of raw sewage flows into the Great Lakes every year.

It's understandable that people are very concerned about the threats to the lakes and public health from the rampant pollution. The Great Lakes provide drinking water and a place for recreation to tens of millions of Americans and our neighbors to the north. Sewage spills cause untold sickness and force frequent beach closings every summer.

The people who love and live around the Great Lakes are getting fed up. They're demanding action from their political leaders. Will the politicians listen?

Now on to the Spills O' the Week:

California spilling: A pair of sewer overflows in two Ventura County, California towns resulted in spills of several hundred gallons each. About 500 gallons of sewage spilled from a collapsed sewer main into the streets of Conejo Valley, while 350 gallons leaked onto the beach in Ventura. Both spills were contained quickly and the public was notified.

-Ventura County Star, March 3, 2007

Hope springs a leak: 3,500 gallons of sewage overflowed from a manhole in Spring Hope, North Carolina during a heavy rainstorm. The treatment plant operators insisted the spill posed no threat to human health and allowed the wastewater to soak into the ground.

-Rocky Mount Telegram, March 4, 2007

Abandon shi...p: The rupture of a sewer main in Muskegon Township, Michigan forced industries to shut down and 30 families to abandon their flooded homes. County officials shut down most of the system's wastewater pump stations while they replaced three 20-foot sections of the sewer main. By the time repairs were complete, 25 million gallons of sewage had spilled into three local lakes and eight homes remain uninhabitable.

-Muskegon Chronicle, March 7, 2007

Spring a leak (part two): A broken sewer main sent 17,800 gallons of untreated wastewater into the streets of Silver Spring, Maryland and down a storm drain that empties into Rock Creek. Workers posted the area to warn of the health hazard.

-Gazette.net, March 7, 2007