© XPRESS/Abdel-Krim KalloucheThere's dirty secret that permeates the oil and wealth of Dubai. According to the Xpress News, A Dubai newspaper, sewage tankers are circumventing regulations and long lines at sewage treatment plants by simply dumping loads of raw sewage into the streets and storm drains of the city. So far 50 tankers have been caught red handed and fined. Officials fear that this may only be the tip of the sand dune. Tanker driver's can make up to 2,000 dirhams ($544) per load. Illegally dumping can yield ten times that amount because drivers can get more loads per shift. They can dump full loads of raw sewage into the street in less than six minutes, as opposed to waiting in long lines at the treatment plant which can take hours.

Dubai is a rapidly growing city with enormous capital resources. It is a shame that it doesn't have the foresight to better develop its wastewater infrastructure more quickly. Hopefully regulators will get a hold of this and end a gross and dangerous practice. As for the tanker drivers, as my mother would say, ‘shame on you.'

Now the Spills of the Week:

School STINKS!!: Bowie High School officials evacuated the school and canceled classes Friday morning when a strong odor filled the school making students and faculty ill. What school officials originally believed to be a stink bomb turned out to be the sewage system. "Students were throwing up and the restrooms were backing up and lot of people starting complaining," said Deni Hawkins, a student at the school. Haven't we seen this in a movie before? Oswaldo Abarca, a ninth-grader said: "There was one girl walking around spraying perfume and Febreze while she was walking to class. But I don't think it helped."
- December 14, 2007: Dallas Morning News - Dallas, TX

The Root of the Problem: The Macon Water Authority cleaned up a 400-gallon sewage spill, caused by roots growing into the sewer line, that contaminating the Ocmulgee River, Workers removed debris and disinfected the area.
- December 15, 2007: The Macon Telegraph - Macon, GA

Grease Does It Again: About 3,600 gallons of untreated sewage overflowed into Perch Creek on Sunday when a grease blockage in the water system's pipes caused the system to backup and overflow. Mobile Area Water & Sewer System crews have cleared the blockage and are taking steps to prevent future overflows at the location. Clean water or French Fries - it's a tough call!
- December 17, 2007:The Press Register - Mobile, AL

Pipe Busted, Poop Lost!: A sewage pipe broke on Memorial Highway Tuesday, spilling at least 150,000 gallons of waste into a drainage system that leads to Pebble Mound Creek and Tampa Bay. Hillsborough County Water Resource Services says the 14-inch pipe broke in the 5800 block of Memorial Highway just east of Town 'N Country Boulevard at 8:45 a.m. Residents are advised to avoid contact with Pebble Mound Creek for the next several days, which shouldn't be a problem because its gross! Warning signs will soon be posted they should quite simply say, "Watch out for the gross poop stream that used to be clean."
- December 18, 2007: tampabays10.com, WTSP Tampa Bay's 10 News - Tampa Bay, FL

WARNING: Poo in Paradise: Warning signs were posted today advising the public to stay out of Kapalama Canal and the area where the canal empties into Honolulu Harbor due to a sewage spill. Watson T. Okubo, chief of Hawaii's Clean Water Branch's monitoring & analysis section, said city Environmental Services notified the state of a 207-gallon overflow from a sewer manhole at 1874 North King St. City officials attributed the overflow to heavy grit and debris in line. Every week Hawaii seems less like paradise and more like filthy mess in need of some serious water infrastructure overhauls.
- December 18, 2007: Honolulu Advertiser - Honolulu, HI

Sandy Soak Up-About 55,000 gallons of wastewater spilled into a dry bed of Eanes Creek on Monday afternoon in West Austin near the intersection of Thousand Oaks and Crested Butte Drives after an overflow alarm failed at an Austin Water Utility wastewater lift station. Officials don't think the incident will affect the public drinking water supply, but if I were living in Austin I'd go with bottled water for a while. All of the wastewater was recovered from the approximately 200 yards of the creek affected. The creek also was flushed with potable water that then was removed from the creek and returned to the wastewater system. It should be safe there! HA.

- December 18, 2007: Austin American Statesman - Austin, TX

Buy Your Crap At WalMart, Literaly: Christmas wasn't the only thing in the air this Thursday for customers at the Hernando County Wal-Mart on U.S. 19. Holiday shoppers were bowled over by the stench of raw sewage spewing from a broken 16-inch pipe at a sewage treatment plant. Hernando County utility officials said that the underground pipe burst around 6:30 a.m., spilling thousands of gallons of sewage that bubbled up to the surface. Utility officials said the sewage smells no doubt caused "an inconvenience'' for shoppers. Merry Christmas!
- December 20, 2007: St. Petersburg Times - St. Petersburg, FL

Shifty Spill: A semi-trailer full of sewage tipped and spilled part of its load at the intersection of Highway 53 and Highway 95 near Hayden, ID Thursday morning. The Idaho State Police told KREM 2 NEWS that around 9:15 a.m. the semi was on Highway 53 and taking a left onto Highway 95 when the sewage in the trailer shifted, causing the semi to tip. Some of the sewage spilled out the top of the semi onto the shoulder of the road. Another sewage truck arrived to suck out the remaining sewage from the overturned semi.
- December 20, 2007: KREM.com Channel 2 News - Spokane, ID

EEEwwVacuated: More than 12 families in Orlando, FL were evacuated after a pipe break sent a flow of raw sewage into their homes. Officials said the flood of filth trapped families in the Lake Village apartments until rescue crews could remove them from the mess. "It is a health hazard and that is why we are keeping our people out of it and keeping the people inside," Orlando Fire Chief Rick Walker said. The city moved the residents into a hotel until cleanup could be completed. Officials closed Mercy Drive because of the sewage.
- December 20, 2007: Local6.com - Orlando, FL

Holiday Seafood Sidestep: A stiff fine and a suspended jail sentence have been levied against the owner of a Rye, NH, seafood restaurant after he pleaded guilty to dumping sewage into the marsh behind his restaurant without a permit. Andrew J. Widen, owner of Ray's Seafood, pleaded guilty last week in Rockingham County Superior Court to discharging sewage without a permit. Prosecutors said he pumped sewage from a septic tank into a nearby marsh. He is required to pay a $5,000 fine with another $20,000 in fines suspended. He also is required to improve the restaurant's septic system and was ordered not to harass the people who complained about the sewage dumping.
- December 21, 2007: WMUR 9 - Manchester, NH

Merry Christmas Baltimore!: 40,000 gallons of raw sewage spilled at the St. Michaels Wastewater Treatment Facility. County Public Works Director Ray Clarke says the raw sewage began leaking Tuesday evening from a manhole and eventually spread to the Miles River and Spencer Creek. Clarke says Maryland Environmental Service didn't notice the spill until Wednesday because alarms did not work properly. Officials said the risk to the public is low because people generally avoid the water at this time of year, except of course for boaters, fisherman, families, dogs, hunters and others that just might be taking a nice Christmas stroll. The Maryland Department of the Environment closed the shellfishery to harvesting in the Miles River from Hayward Creek to Deepwater Point.
- December 21, 2007: WMAR-TV - Baltimore, MD