Well, it looks like a vote will be on the California November ballot to rename a San Francisco sewage plant after President Bush. Personal opinions aside, I would simply like to comment on the number of articles I have come across about this subject. Over a hundred articles came up when I did a simple news search, and my sewage news alert has been flooded with them for weeks. Frankly, I'm a little tired of it. Appropriate or not, it grates on my nerves when there are more articles about a sewage joke than a sewage spill. It seems that we need to have our priorities readjusted, and quickly.

And now, the Spills of the Week...

Unlikely Prize: Minneola and Groveland, two cities in central Florida are fiercely battling over a lucrative, yet unusual prize, the right to process the waste from the 1,100-inmate Lake Correctional Facility in south Lake County. Both cities claim that the facility is in their own utility district, and therefore have the right to charge the facility for its waste processing needs. After years of self-sufficiency, the facility is looking to sign a contract with one municipality to treat the waste coming from the prison. The reason they're fighting so hard is because both cities are desperate for money to finance recent overhauls to their treatment systems. "They can get out of my swimming pool, " said Minneola Mayor David Yeager bluntly, referring to Groveland's alleged encroachment into the Minneola utility district. Not playing nice, are they?
July 14, 2008. Orlando Sentinel - Groveland, FL

And now the Spills of the Week...

(Not so) Clean Water: Athletes on Olympic rowing teams have no doubt worked in just about every kind of water imaginable. But the bright green algae that covered nearly the entire Olympic venue in Bejing this week, had some rowers fearing for their health. Despite reassurances that the water is safe, it took boats, bulldozers and even the military to clear the water of the choking algae. Even scarier, nearly every team has a story about someone getting sick or infected after accidentally touching the water. An Australian rower accidentally swallowed some water last year, after slipping on a boat ramp, and only recently recovered from a ten month bout of gastrointestinal trauma that put her in the hospital on numerous occasions. Yikes. Doesn't seem so clean to me.
- July 7, 2008. AFP - Qingdao, China

And Now the Spills of the Week:

It's no secret that Ohio has considerable problems with sewage overflows. With a majority of the population living in communities with combined sewer systems, overflows are common, particularly in high recreational areas on Lake Erie. In light of this major threat to the environment and the public's health, the Ohio EPA is taking steps to better inform the public about the locations of Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs). The Ohio EPA has made available to the public a user friendly mapping system pinpointing CSO outfalls across the entire state.

While this tool is far from perfect (leaving out critical information about when the overflows are occurring), it is a huge step in the right direction to keeping the public informed about the safety of the waters in communities across Ohio.

Pennsylvania Green: State legislatures are working hard in Pennsylvania this week to push bills through the House to tag State funds for large sewage infrastructure overhauls. It seems to be a step in the right direction, but officials are warning residents and county officials to be patient. While a combination of bills could ensure at least $800 million or more of the state budget is dedicated to sewage improvements, this is only a fraction of what is needed in the state. "It'll take some time," says State Representative Robert Belfanti. "You can't do all of Pennsylvania's water and sewage problems in one year. It's a long-term project." But at least they are making headway. Change has to start somewhere right?
- July 3, 2008. The News Item - Harrisburg, PA

And now, the Spills of the Week:

Editor's Note: Sorry for the lull in posting. River Action Day 2008 took precedence and was a tremendous success. The Slog will now resume.

A wastewater treatment plant in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada has recently opened an innovative treatment plant that composts human waste, transforming it into fertilizing garden mulch. Part of their 25 year celebration, the company is giving the bags of garden compost, a mix of bio-solids and organic plant matter, away to anyone who wants them. That is if you can get past the idea. For some reason, we're willing to put pig manure anywhere, but as soon as it's our own, hackles rise. Eventually the company is hoping to sell the stuff in gardening stores within the region, but is hoping to raise awareness and comfort with this free campaign.

And now the Spills of the last couple weeks:

I know that global warming is big and bad and will reshape our world - but for me, it really becomes tangible when I can understand how it will affect specific places. As Gary wrote last week, the Great Lakes are one of those places where we work and that inspire a great sense of place. Now, there's some additional specific information about how global warming will affect the Lakes - and it doesn't look good.

With no end to the drought facing the Southeast, metropolitan areas are looking to their wastewater for answers. Wastewater reuse in South Florida could put an end to Miami's irresponsible practice of dumping 300 million gallons of partially treated sewage a day the city currently pumps into the ocean. After twenty years of dumping sewage a couple of miles off shore, where fisherman seek their livelihoods and scuba divers enjoy some of the best diving the east coast has to offer, Florida finally sees the value in preserving the resource it's been throwing away. According to the Associated Press and the Herald Tribune, the Florida Senate Committee on Environmental Preservation and Conservation unanimously passed SB 1302, which mandates a stop to the ocean dumping by 2013, stricter sewage treatment guidelines by 2018 and the elimination of all dumping by 2025. Let's hope that the federal government takes notice and takes similar measures to conserve and protect our country's freshwater resources.

And now the Spills of the Week:

I don't think we covered this spill in Arcade Creek Sacramento, CA a month or so, but KCRA 3 News film crews caught some pretty dramatic video what a sewer main breach looks like. be

And now the Spills of the Week:

Editors Note: Sorry for the delay in getting this posted. SOW will return to it's Friday posting on the 7th. - JK

A Kentucky man, David Bowling, was fined more than $260,000 and sentenced to a year in prison for dumping raw sewage into the Big Sandy River, in Kentucky. Bowling, who owned and operated Dave's Concrete Products and Septic Service was caught in December 2006 taking his septic truck labeled "water" and emptying thousands of gallons of raw sewage into the Big Sandy. It either takes complete idiocy or complete disregard for your community to pull a stunt like that.

Blatant disrespect for the law, our communities and the health and prosperity of our children, neighbors and families is just plain wrong. Here's your sign... Bowling!!

And now the Spills of the Week: