October 6, 2010
Wednesday’s Water News: Communities Seek Federal Aid for EPA Mandated Improvements
The cost of federally mandated sewer improvements is putting a squeeze on cities throughout the United States, but some local officials around the country hope a proposed federal law will bring some relief to their rising repair bills. The Clean Water Affordability Act, if it becomes law, would update the EPA’s clean water affordability policy to provide grants to cash-strapped communities nationwide to make necessary repairs to their combined sewer systems.
Headlines
About 25 homes and businesses were without water service this morning in a Los Angeles neighborhood as utility crews tried to make repairs to a break in a 12-inch water main.
Torrential rains last week caused 2.6 million gallons of untreated sewage to spill from a treatment plant in Harford County, Maryland. Much of the sewage from the plant’s primary settling tank flowed into King’s Creek and the Bush River.
Stimulus Spotlight
Water districts in eastern Kentucky are undergoing improvements thanks to funding from the economic stimulus.
The funding includes $9.5 million in loans and $4.4 million in grants.
In California, San Luis Obispo County supervisors have allocated another $750,000 to keep the Los Osos sewer project going. Roughly half of the money for the project — $87 million — is coming from federal stimulus funds. The remainder will be provided by loans from state water officials.
Sewer Rate News
Evanston, Illinois
Godfrey, Illinois
Pinellas County, Florida
Rutland, Vermont
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