Dishonorable Tribute: A request made by the Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco is causing quite a stir in local and national political circles. The request, "naturally hatched in a bar," according to the New York Times, would put a vote on the November ballot, asking for the local bay area Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant to be renamed the George W. Bush Sewage Plant.

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

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:

As worldwide demand for energy increases, prices at the pump and at the meter will continue to rise. Similarly, rapid development across the U.S. increases the demand placed on our aging and failing sewage and water infrastructure systems , our water and sewer bills are only going to increase. But recentinterest in alternative fuels and water supplies might produce solutions to both challenges. 

Scientists and students from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA, are working on a project/experiment aimed at producing bio-diesel from our sewage. ODU students are using the nutrient rich sewage to grow algae which conveniently love the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. They use the natural oils that the algae produce to make bio-diesel. Apparently it is more efficient than traditional agriculturally based bio-fuels.

On the other side of the country, Los Angeles is implementing a project to capture, treat and reuse its sewage as a renewable resource and water supply. The new program could process, treat and provide up to 70 million gallons of fresh water to the LA region a day. With so much sewage going around (we all make it) why not reuse it. Increased interest and research into alternative fuels and water supply ideas will help us cope with the very real challenges of running out of these important  resources and global climate change. Great work ODU and LA. 

And Now the Spills of the Week:

Ryan Severn of Seattle takes dedication to a whole new level. Last week while Ryan and his wife, Ann, were cleaning an office building, Ann accidentally dropped her wedding band down in to a sewer. Not just a sewer pipe, but a full on vat of sewage. Ryan, seeing that his wife was very upset at losing their symbol of matrimony, dove into the sewer and starting searching for the ring in the sewage! "I strip down in underwear," he said, "and went in." Unsuccessful, Ryan left and immediately bought a wetsuit, came back and gave it another go with a handmade strainer. Yet again, he was unsuccessful. So, being the committed husband, he hired professionals to drain the cesspool, sift through the slimy mess and sure enough he found the ring!!! That takes a level of commitment that is hard to find. Amazing and impressive.

And now the Spills of the Week:

Nothing ruins Christmas like sewage running through the streets of your home town. Deja vu all over again. Since December 22, sewage has been bubbling up to the surface and covering the streets of Hawthornvale, Scotland. Residents complained continually throughout the week but it wasn't until local media took an interest in the story did anything get down to alleviate the problem. "We were all told by customer services something would be done about it," said angry resident, Jonathon Harris. "At times it can be pretty foul smelling. It's a real mess of toilet paper and what can only be described as feces flowing down the side of the pavement in the gutter. It's absolutely disgusting and when it's wet, you can't see what you're walking in."

The sewer utility, Scottish Waters, finally stopped the leak on Monday (New Years Eve!!) but not soon enough for some. Dr Chris Mackel, 62, said he returned home from a holiday on December 27 to find the sewage still pouring past his front door: "I reported it twice to the council and then to Scottish Water to complain about the problem. So when I came back and saw it worse I contacted the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to see if they could help. ...But it's still bad and I'd say there's probably about three centimeters been gurgling up from the drains. It's an absolute health hazard." Everyone, including the Scots, deserve healthy communities.

Now the Spills of the Week:

© XPRESS/Abdel-Krim KalloucheThere's dirty secret that permeates the oil and wealth of Dubai. According to the Xpress News, A Dubai newspaper, sewage tankers are circumventing regulations and long lines at sewage treatment plants by simply dumping loads of raw sewage into the streets and storm drains of the city. So far 50 tankers have been caught red handed and fined. Officials fear that this may only be the tip of the sand dune. Tanker driver's can make up to 2,000 dirhams ($544) per load. Illegally dumping can yield ten times that amount because drivers can get more loads per shift. They can dump full loads of raw sewage into the street in less than six minutes, as opposed to waiting in long lines at the treatment plant which can take hours.

Dubai is a rapidly growing city with enormous capital resources. It is a shame that it doesn't have the foresight to better develop its wastewater infrastructure more quickly. Hopefully regulators will get a hold of this and end a gross and dangerous practice. As for the tanker drivers, as my mother would say, ‘shame on you.'

Now the Spills of the Week:

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:

Here's a little Gem for the Slog from the Picayune Item in Picayune, MS. This story is just unbelievable.

Photo by Jeremy Pittari for the Picayune ItemPICAYUNE — A faulty waste water treatment plant in Westchester Subdivision is failing to properly treat waste water that is eventually fed into Hobolochitto Creek.