Here's a sewage/wildlife feel good story to lift your spirits before we get into the Spills. A swan mistakenly landed in an open sewage vat in East Sussex, England. The swan was trapped in the Uckfiled (I can't imagine a more appropriate name for a sewage treatment facility) Water Treatment Works because it didn't have enough "runway" room in the sewage vat to get the speed it needed to take off. Animal rescue services were called and after performing some delicate maneuvers with a net and "swan hooks" rescuers were able to remove the trapped waterfowl from the disgusting mess it had gotten into. The bird escaped unharmed but rescuers reportedly got "soaked" - gross.

Now the Spills of the Week:
Yuckima, Washington: Raw sewage started spewing out of a pipe on a street behind the Wal-Mart in Terrace Height Friday. Neighbors say it's the second time the pipe has bubbled over in the last week. Hundreds of gallons of rain water mixed with the sewage. The putrid combination started leaking onto Chalmers street after grease blocked the wastewater pipe. "It's just foul and you can smell it walking out my Dad's door," Tina Norman, who's family lives in the neighborhood said.
- October 20, 2007: KIMA CBS 29 - Yakima, WA

It's Gonna Cost Ya: A persistent leak in a sewer pipe was discovered this week. The leak has been spilling sewage into the Anacostia for an unknown length of time. Sewage spills in the Anacostia is hardly anything new. This latest mishap is just another chapter in the long of DC's other (forsaken) river.
- October 23, 2007: Washington Post - Washington, DC

Port-o-Potty-Land, Oregon: The Willamette is back on Spills of the Week. Maintenance crews in Portland discovered sewage overflowing from an outfall pipe while doing routine maintenance. Area residents were warned to stay away from the Willamette for at least 48 hours after the overflow.
- October 24, 2007: KTVZ - Portland, OR

Spill in the Ba-eew: The Mobile Area Water and Sewer System reported today that heavy rainfall caused a sanitary sewage overflow of 1,250 gallons from a manhole Tuesday at the intersection of Laurel and Davitt streets.The raw sewage flowed into Eslava Creek.
- October 24, 2007: Press-Register - Mobile, AL

... Later that Day: Also in Mobile. A sewer spill along Route 64 sent sewage spilling into the Fish River. Baldwin County Health Officials warned residents to use caution when using the Fish River.
- October 24, 2007: WKRG TV - Mobile, AL

Stink Lake: The emphasis on the size of this sewage spill seems suspicious. A very defensive John Stuparits from the Sewer Authority representative characterized a spill in the town of Spring Lake, MI near the Grand River as a "small minor leak." We're willing to look past the redundancy but the trust me, there's nothing to see here makes me suspicious: "I don't know if the leak even got to the Grand River - it probably just soaked up in the grass. However, we are required by our permit to notify our local publication, so I'm doing that. I've contacted the Ottawa County Health Department. They did not require any testing, as it was minimal." Thanks John.
- October 25, 2007: Grand Haven Tribune - Grand Haven, MI