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):

Oh-hi-No: Flooding in Mansfield, OH caused sewage to backup into homes throughout town. Residents have experienced hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to property not to mention the health risks of living in sewage soaked quarters.
- August 24, 2007: The Mansfield News Journal - Mansfield, OH

Ain't Just Muddy Creek: Just like Susan told us earlier this week, intense storms continued to pound Iowa this week. With these storms comes inevitable sewage bypasses. Muddy Creek was just the latest Iowa body of water to get an unhealthy dose of untreated sewage.
- August 25, 2007: Cedar Rapids Gazette - Cedar Rapids, IA

Must Dodge Lake Hodges: Advisories were posted urging people to avoid contact with Lake Hodges in San Diego, CA after sewage spilled into the lake. Lake Hodges is a drinking water source for area residents. Later in the week, reports revealed that 36,000 gallons of sewage ended up in the lake.
- August 25, 2007: KGTV 10 News - San Diego, CA
- August 25, 2007: North County Times - Escondido, CA

Chi-caca-go: Chicago's deep tunnel sewer system typically allows the city to avoid sewage overflows during common rain storms but the storms that most recently hit the city left officials with no choice but to release the sluice into Lake Michigan. Chicago sent thousands of gallons of sewage into the lake following several days of torrential rains this week. City officials did post advisories about the presence of untreated sewage in the water but did not close city beaches on the lake. According to reports the city is monitoring water quality.
- August 25, 2007: Chicago Tribune - Chicago, IL

El Poopoo, California: Manhattan Beach in El Porto, CA closed due to a 1,000 gallon sewage spill. Blocked sewer lines caused sewage to leak pour from manholes in a nearby parking lot and onto a sizable section of the beach.
- August 25, 2007: The Daily Breeze, Los Angeles, CA

Whadda Ya Know - its Iowa Again: If there's a silver lining to the overwhelming number of sewage spills, overflows and bypasses in Iowa it's that the public is at least informed about the millions and millions of gallons of sewage being discharged into the state's waters. The North Liberty sewage treatment works bypassed an undisclosed amount of sewage into the Iowa River. Some day all this rain's got to stop.
- August 25, 2007: The Daily Iowan, Iowa City, IA

Rundown Lake: A disconnected pipe joint caused a 4,000 gallon sewage spill near Runyan Lake in Tyrone Township, MI. Crews were able to clean the mess up before it reached the lake.
- August 27, 2007: Argus & Press - Livingston, MI

Redefining "Effluent Dependent" Streams: Two hundred feet of a dry creek bed was filled with a thousand gallons of sewage over the course of three days at Pine Mountain Lake in California. A watchful resident reported the leak on Tuesday but the clean-up didn't begin until Friday. A pipe failure was determined to be the cause of the leak.
- August 27, 2007: The Union Democrat - Sonora, CA

Deja Poo in Oh-hi-No: This story out of Fort Jennings, OH is nearly identical to the one above. More heavy rains, more basement, toilet and tub sewage backups, huge amounts of property loss and damage and more frustrated and disgusted residents left on their own to deal with the problem. I really feel for these Midwesterners lately.
- August 28, 2007: Delphos Herald - Delphos, OH

The Navy's Secret Weapon: A 600 gallon sewage spill at a Naval base in San Diego led officials to close the Kellogg Street Beach. Loose fitting sewer lines caused the spill.
- August 29, 2007: KNSD NBC 7 - San Diego, CA

Boooo Huskies: A long term sewage leak into Portage Bay, by way of Piper's Creek in Carkeek Park, in Washington has been traced back to the University of Washington. "That ‘cloud' -- a recurring feature on Portage Bay's north shore for months -- would turn out to be paint waste inadvertently released by a nearby University of Washington maintenance shop. Less noticeable was the raw sewage that had also been pouring into the city stormwater system because of a plumbing mistake made by the university about a year ago."
- August 29, 2007: Seattle Post-Intelligencer - Seattle, WA