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

We've heard all kinds of plans for "reuse" of wastewater from making snow at ski resorts, to heating buildings, to treating it to potable standards and pipe it irectly into drinking water aquifers. The latest development in sewage reuse is to turn sewage into energy. EnerTech Environmental, an energy research a development company based in Atlanta, GA, has received venture capital funding from Citigroup's Sustainable Development Investments, the Masdar Clean Tech Fund, CNM and Nimes Capital to develop five plants that will convert human waste into renewable energy. EnerTech is a pioneer in the sustainable energy development field. The company has engineered a specific technology it calls SlurryCarb which replicates the natural process that creates fossil fuel from organic material. The process of using sewage or garbage for energy isn't entirely a new concept. For example: methane traps at landfills have been around for years. The true innovation of SlurryCarb is the entire process of removing water from the waste and being able to use what's left as fuel for energy generation. My only question would be is that since the energy source is carbon based does are the same sort of greenhouse gases produced when the sewage based fuel is burned. Are the gases released potentially worse, i.e. methane, than carbon releases from fossil fuels? Nevertheless, with approximately 301,139,947 people in the US, and with our tendency to overeat, it's a safe be that "fuel" will never be in short supply. You can't say that about fossil fuels. And if sewage is burnt for energy than that means it's not being dumped in our rivers lakes and oceans - and here at the Slog we can't argue against that.

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:

This won't be a Christmas that Robert Shoff, age 77, will soon forget. Trying to unclog a septic line a this home, Shoff, somehow managed to slip into the septic tank and get stuck upside down! Shoff struggled to free himself for about an hour before his wife noticed his legs shaking in the air from a window inside their home. She immediately called the police and they promptly removed him from his smelly perch. Robert Shoff only suffered minor bruising and a damaged eardrum, apparently from screaming for help. I can't think of a worse Christmas, can you?

Now the Spills of the Week:

This week's sewage spill situation is looking pretty bad and with more rain in the forecast for much of the country it's only get worse. Since it we're heading into a banner week for sewage spills the Slog is going to post a first round of spills today. Remember:

Rain + Combined Sewer Systems = Sewage in your Water.

Spills Part 1 for the week of November 11:

A Not-So-Clean Head: Officials were notified of a sewer manhole overflow at Seldon Street and Harris Avenue on Kane'ohe Marine Corps Base Hawai'i. The blockage was due to grease, the Clean Water Board said. A total of 1,000 gallons overflowed from the sewer manhole and entered a retention basin.
- November 10, 2007: Honolulu Advertiser - Honolulu, HI

Photo by SASHere is some righteous good news from the UK. "Surfzombies" rose from the sea Wednesday to lobby local civic leaders in the States of Guernsey to invest in a new permanent full sewage treatment facility. The zombie surfers came within three votes of success but were defeated by proponents of the status quo pump and dump treatment strategy. Currently, the island community dumps raw sewage from nearly 60,000 residents directly into the sea. With one of the richest per capita populations in the West, Guernsey has a waste disposal methods on par with those found in the developing world nations. The Surfzombie activists plan to influence the leaders of Guernsey to clean up their act by raising awareness of this disgusting problem particular with respect to its impacts on tourism and more political will.

Now the Spills of the Week:

Beachgoers in Scotland were frightened out of the water at the site of what they believed to be the presence of raw sewage everywhere - all over the rocks and in the water. The Scotland Environmental Protection Agency came out to investigate only to discover that the nasty looking globules of "sewage" weren't sewage after all. They are what scientists described as "squirts," a harmless sea creature stirred up and washed ashore by rough seas. They may be harmless but still, something that looks like sewage, floating in the ocean, called a squirt - that's nasty and I wouldn't want them anywhere near me.

Now for the Spills of the Week (I think we may have set a new record):

As Tropical Depression Erin moves across Texas, I can't help but think of the sewage problems that Texas has already had this year. The massive flooding experienced just a few months ago left its mark on the state. With this new batch of wet weather, flood advisories are already being issued. Stay tuned to the Slog as we will update you next week on any sewage related developments caused by Erin.

Now the Spills of the Week:

The news-media spent a good deal of time the other day talking about the New York City subway floods. As the New York Times pointed out:

This just in, sewage can be used to put out fires. 1500 gallons of raw sewage from a pump truck was used to douse the flames of a fiery car wreck in Georgia. Several septic company workers were heading home when they came across the crash.

"We heard the man in there screaming, so we waited for the police to get there, and police showed up. We asked permission to put the fire out, with the pump truck, and they said 'Go ahead, and do that' so we backed the pump truck over there, and put the fire out."