Raw sewage overflow alert

Here’s another one raw sewage overflow alert for Indianapolis.  The city states in its e-mail alert that,

Even in dry weather, it is best to avoid contact with urban streams and teach children to stay away.

Yikes.

(another) raw sewage overflow alert

You know the drill.  Stay out of the Indianapolis waterways cause there be poop in them. This is somewhat strange as I checked how much precipitation we’ve experienced recently and our  accumulated precipitation, month to date for 2/10/09 (the day of the alert), was only .24 inches.  Hardly seems like enough precipitation to enable a sewage overflow.  I know we’ve had a lot of snow melting, but it was gone before last weekend.  Something doesn’t seem right.

Sailing the raw sewage seas in Indianapolis

I get e-mail alerts from the city when our 100+ year old sewage system becomes overwhelmed with rainwater, melting snow, etc.  This should be a source of embarrassment for the city and the surrounding areas that we would ignore this infrastructure problem for so long.  Apparently, there is a 2006 agreement with the Feds to overhaul the system.  What irritates me is that we have to wait until 2026 to see a ‘significant’ reduction in raw sewage overflows.  2026?!  Are you kidding me?  I will almost be 50 years old when this problem is ‘significantly’ reduced.  sad.     

• $1.73 billion by December 2025 to significantly reduce raw sewage overflows from the combined sewer system;
• $50.4 million by December 2015 to eliminate chronic overflows from seven locations in the separate, sanitary sewer system; and
• $3.5 million by December 2010 on supplemental environmental projects to eliminate septic systems in two neighborhoods.
  For more information or to view a list of planned projects, visit

I encourage you to sign-up here to receive these alerts and then get mad as hell whenever you receive these e-mails.  Come spring time, you’re going to be surprised and sick to your stomach at how often this occurs.  Raw sewage overflows, unfortunately, are nothing new to Indianapolis residents and that is the reason why I feel compelled to post this information. 

From today’s e-mail alert:

When it rains or snow melts, the 100-year old sewers in the older parts of Indianapolis can overflow, sendinguntreated sewage and rainwater into our waterways. Today, weather conditions indicate a strong possibility that precipitation may cause overflows to occur or that overflows have occurred in the past 72hours. If the precipitation occurs as snow, overflows may occur days or weeks later, when temperatures near or exceed freezing.

Please avoid all contact with water downstream of combined sewers. Swallowing or hand-to-mouth contact with sewage-contaminated water could make you sick. Signs are posted along our waterways to identify more than 130 combined sewer outfalls and areas where contact with the water could be hazardous to your health. Even in dry weather, it is best to avoid contact with urban streams and teach children to stay away.

The affected areas include:
White River downstream from 56th Street, Fall Creek downstream from Keystone Avenue, Little Eagle Creek downstream from Michigan Street, Eagle Creek downstream from the confluence of Little Eagle Creek, Pogues Run downstream from 21st Street, Pleasant Run downstream from Kitley Avenue, State Ditch downstream from Southern Avenue, Lick Creek downstream from Madison Avenue, and Bean Creek downstream from I-65

The City encourages you to take the following protective actions:
- Avoid contact withurban streams, especially during and three days after rain or snowmelts.
- Alter recreational activities to ones that do not contact water. For example, walkingor bikingalong a stream rather than swimming, wading or water skiing.
- Always wash your hands after contacting water in urban streams, especially before eating, drinking, smoking or preparing food.
- Use a waterless hand sanitizer at outings that occur near urban streams.

The city’s Clean Streams-Healthy Neighborhoods program is working to improve our waterways and reduce and eliminate sewage overflows. For example, new flow equalization basins at our treatment plants and other sewer improvements have reduced overflows by hundreds of millions of gallons each year. Overflows will be reduced even more as the city’s long-term plan is implemented.

The city’s Clean Streams-Healthy Neighborhoods program is working to improve our waterways and reduce and eliminate sewage overflows. For example, new flow equalization basins at our treatment plants and other sewer improvements have reduced overflows by hundreds of millions of gallons each year. Overflows will be reduced even more as the city’s long-term plan is implemented.

www.indycleanstreams.org.

free pharmaceuticals for all!

It’s known, but not well known, that we are finding trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in our drinking water.  There are a number of potential non-point source culprits like hospitals and consumers flushing un-used pills down the toilet and the like.   This sort of stuff can be regulated through awareness campaigns and disposal regulations for hospitals.  But trace amounts of these drugs are also being found in our own waste.  So, what to do?  ‘take back’ campaigns to regulate and eliminate these trace amounts that industry representatives declare to be too costly and ineffective? Perhaps private industry is right on this one (shudder).  The best campaign is consumer awareness. So in short, DON’T FLUSH YOUR PILLS DOWN THE TOILET!  Go here for more information.

This depresses me.  Time for a swig from the drinking fountain.