With no end to the drought facing the Southeast, metropolitan areas are looking to their wastewater for answers. Wastewater reuse in South Florida could put an end to Miami's irresponsible practice of dumping 300 million gallons of partially treated sewage a day the city currently pumps into the ocean. After twenty years of dumping sewage a couple of miles off shore, where fisherman seek their livelihoods and scuba divers enjoy some of the best diving the east coast has to offer, Florida finally sees the value in preserving the resource it's been throwing away. According to the Associated Press and the Herald Tribune, the Florida Senate Committee on Environmental Preservation and Conservation unanimously passed SB 1302, which mandates a stop to the ocean dumping by 2013, stricter sewage treatment guidelines by 2018 and the elimination of all dumping by 2025. Let's hope that the federal government takes notice and takes similar measures to conserve and protect our country's freshwater resources.

And now the Spills of the Week:That Creek is MAD: Muscatine area residents were asked not to go near Mad Creek in Muscatine, IA. According to Department of Natural Resources reports, a blocked sewage line caused a wastewater spill in that area. Crews managed to quickly clear the blockage in the line upon it's discovery. An unknown amount of wastewater flowed out of a manhole and into a ditch that drains into Mad Creek.
- March 28, 2008: Muscatine Journal - Muscatine, IA

Stinky DMV: The Arapahoe County Department of Motor Vehicles office was closed on March 24 after a burst pipe caused sewage to seep into the office and into the church next door. The office reopened on Monday in time for drivers to take care of their business before the end of the month.
- March 31, 2008: 9 News - Fort Collins, CO

Just Plain Wrong!: East Texas, where the raw sewage flows free. Residents of Jackson Oaks have had enough with the disgusting infrastructure problems the neighborhood is experiencing. "My next door neighbor's sewage is running down my driveway and our children are having to step over it. They have a trampoline next door that my grandson loves to play on but I tell him not to walk in it and stay on the road because it's so gross," said Nola Chandler whose yard is full of sewage. The development popped up twenty or so years ago and the infrastructure was not designed to handle the continued growth of the community. Yeah Sprawl!
- April1 1, 2008: KLTV - Jacksonville, TX

Reoccurring Problem: An estimated 80,000 gallons of untreated sewage overflowed into Lake Macatawa last week caused by a malfunction at an area lift station. The failure was two-fold, a mechanical failure that allowed the overflow to happen and than a failed warning system that allowed the overflow to last and grow as long as it did.
- April 1, 2008: Holland Sentinel - Holland, MI

Straight Pipe Hype: Some homes in Mower County, MN dump sewage right into the Cedar River. In rural parts of the country "straight piping" is actually more common than you might think. County's environmental services has sent letters to homeowners in violation that they must fix their dirty and illegal problem. Homeowners have ten months to fix the problem or they could be fined $500 a month.
- April 2, 2008: kimt.com - Mason City, IA