In the Finnish town of Nokia, thousands of people have fallen ill due to accidental contamination of their water source. According to AFP World News, a sewage treatment plant worker mistakenly opened a valve allowing treated sewage to flow into the town's water supply. Thousands of citizens have complained of diarrhea and vomiting. The situation seems to be under control, but not after exposing the entire town to potentially serious illness. The water had been treated and was supposed to be released into a nearby river. This incident and the 1193 Milwaukee Crypto outbreak are perfect example of just how harmful untreated sewage. Hopefully, public health scares like these lead to better understanding on why raw and partially treated sewage in our water sources is probably not a good idea!

And now the spills of the week!!

Oooooh That Smell!: "Something smells funny out here to me. He said, ‘yeah me too.' And even when we went down the road we continued to smell it, but we didn't know what it was," said resident Patricia Collier. The smell came from more than 9,700 gallons of raw sewage that overflowed into Hogpen Ditch in Albany, GA. "We have to drink the water, we have to bathe in the water, and you never know what's in it and how it can effect you," added Collier.
- November 30, 2007: WALB News 10 - Albany, GA

Riolo Spilliolo: Placer County cleanup crews are expected to return today to inspect portions of Dry Creek affected by a sewage spill Saturday that reportedly sent more than 100,000 gallons of waste into the creek. Anita Yoder, a spokeswoman with Placer County's Office of Emergency Services, said a contractor with Collet Construction had pierced a 16-inch main at about 8:30 a.m. Saturday, spilling the massive amount of raw sewage into the creek along the Cook-Riolo Bridge, near PFE Road, west of Roseville.
- December 2, 2007, sacbee.com, The Sacramento Bee, Sacramento, CA

Keeps Flowin': The LOTT Alliance wastewater treatment plant in downtown Olympia, WA sent raw sewage into Budd Inlet on Monday for the first time in 16 years as record breaking rains overwhelmed the system. About 1.2 million gallons of untreated wastewater entered the inlet through the emergency outfall at Fiddlehead Marina each hour, LOTT officials reported. Heavy rains are straining the system with more than three times the operating capacity of the plant. The vast majority is rainwater entering the sewer system through the old, combined storm and sanitary sewers.
- December 3, 2007: The Olympian Online - Olympia, WA

FORE...that's sewage: About 500 gallons of raw sewage spilled over into a lagoon Sunday in Hilton Head, SC. The Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority responded to complaints around 10 a.m. Sunday and discovered a pumping station had lost power. Residents recalled seeing sewage oozing out of manholes and seeping into drains running into the lagoon. The Department of Health and Environmental Control took water samples to test for fecal coliform.
- December 3, 2007: The Island Packet Online - Hilton Head Island - Bluffton, SC

Flash Fecal Flooding-Heavy rains caused sewage overflows and flooding problems Monday in Washington County, Oregon. The raw sewage that overflowed was highly diluted by rainwater, but bacteria was still present, officials said. In addition, overflows were reported at the Turner Creek system in Hillsboro; near Farmington and Menlo Drive in Beaverton; at Royalty Parkway and Queen Elizabeth Street in King City and near 19100 S.W. Shaw St. in Aloha. Sewage overflow warning signs would be posted in areas accessible to the public and removed when water samples showed no evidence of sewage.
- December 3, 2007: The Oregonian - Portland, OR

Stinky Switch Slip-up: A faulty switch caused a lift station near Harris Branch Creek in Northeast Travis County to break Sunday. The failure caused 108,000 gallons of wastewater to spill into the creek and kill more than 200 fish. Jane Burazer with Austin Water Utility said the problem is being fixed. The city is also fixing the notification system in place. The city didn't know about Sunday's spill until they inspected the station on Monday because the control system failed to alarm the city.
- December 5, 2007, News 8 Austin, Austin, TX

Effluent Overflow: A spill of partially treated sewage into the ocean prompted pollution warnings Wednesday along a section of Sunset Cliffs Park and a tide-pool area at Cabrillo National Monument in Southern California. The effluent overflow was discovered during a maintenance inspection of an ocean-outfall pipe at Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant on Gatchell Road, according to the county Department of Environmental Health. Contamination alert signs will stand in the affected areas until follow-up testing shows that they are safe again for recreational uses, the DEH reported.
- December 5, 2007: 10news.com, San Diego, CA

San Dieg-uh-oh: Warning signs were posted Wednesday at beaches in Point Loma and Imperial Beach due to pollution risks. Imperial Beach is closed for swimming because the ocean current is moving north and potentially pushing pollutants from the Tijuana River to the South Bay beach community, the county's Department of Environmental Health said.
- December 6, 2007: Union Tribune - San Diego, CA

San Dieg-oh-no Again: In a different spill farther north, warning signs went up at the lower portion of Sunset Cliffs Park and the tide pools at Cabrillo National Monument which closed when 7,200 gallons of treated sewage spilled from the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant. The spill was discovered during a routine maintenance inspection of the pipe that sends the plant's treated sewage far out into the ocean. Those signs will also remain in place until tests determine the area is safe for swimming and other activities.
- December 6, 2007, Union Tribune, San Diego, CA

Line ‘em up: A plugged sewer line caused an unknown amount of wastewater to be discharged into the Iowa River earlier this week. According to the Department of Natural Resources, a discharge of wastewater near the intersection of Foster Road and Laura Drive was reported by a local resident Thursday. The resident told the DNR that standing water had been in the area for several days. The DNR said the discharge flowed less than three-quarters of a mile to the Iowa River. The sewer line serves a mobile home park.
- December 7, 2007: Iowa City Press Citizen - Iowa City, IA

Poo Poo Party Cove!!-"Over 20,000 gallons of wastewater pumped into the Osage River by the Lake Ozark Public Works Department Monday evening should have no long-term environmental impact, according to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. DNR found the release occurred while Bagnell Dam was in a period of heavy electrical generation, increasing the flow of water into the Osage River, diluting the wastewater and diminishing the environmental impact." There's no problem here except for the THOUSANDS of gallons of excrement flowing into one of the largest recreation destinations in the Midwest, but hey, no worries.
- December 7, 2007, Lake Expo Online