Global warming is a real party pooper. As if melting ice caps, rising sea levels, prolonged droughts, killer hurricanes, and massive flooding weren't horrible enough, now we have something else to worry about: the threat of more frequent and more severe raw sewage spills.

As reported this week in Greenwire:

"Climate change will lead to more frequent sewer overflows, growing ‘dead zones' for aquatic life and soaring costs for water treatment facilities in the Great Lakes and New England regions, U.S. EPA warns in two draft reports."

Both reports are available for review and open for public comment on EPA's website:

http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-AIR/2007/March/Day-29/a5798.htm

http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-AIR/2007/March/Day-29/a5803.htm

And now on to Spills of the Week...

Old Spillwaukee: A spring storm dumped more than two inches of rain in several hours causing an "unknown" volume of sewage and storm water to get dumped from Milwaukee and Shorewood's CSO into the Milwaukee, Kinnickinnic and Menomonee rivers and Lake Michigan. The untreated sewage overflows began around 7 am on Tuesday and lasted until late Wednesday. Shocking video of the CSO courtesy of the Milwaukee Riverkeeper and University of Wisconsin Milwaukee.
- April 3, 2007 Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

Why the well smells: Heavy rains in East Texas caused a 100,000 gallon sewage spill near Lake Tawakoni. Residents on well water were instructed to boil their tap water and warnings to avoid contact with the lake were issued.
- April 3, Herald Banner, Greenville, TX:

Brown bag lunch: Northeast Intermediate School in Scranton, PA closed early after a sewage leak was discovered in the school's cafeteria.
- April 4: WNEP16 Scranton, PA:

Record-breaking ‘number two': Dubbed by local officials as the second worst sewage spill in county history, two million gallons of raw sewage spewed from a broken sewer line into Buena Vista Lagoon. During repairs, a second break sent another two million gallons the next day. The massive spill, which topped out at five million gallons, closed several area beaches and continues to threaten fish and wildlife in the nearby Buena Vista Ecological Reserve.
- April 2: San Diego Union Tribune, April 4: KNBC TV 4 Los Angeles, April 5: North County Times:

New York Spills: Twice in the past month, several residents in the village of New York Mills have dealt with flooded basements, but local officials don't yet know the cause of the sewage backups.
- April 5: The Observer-Dispatch - Utica, NY