A few miles away, people were walking home without umbrellas from late dinners. But at Owls Head, a swimming pool’s worth of sewage and wastewater was soon rushing in every second. Warning horns began to blare. A little after 1 a.m., with a harder rain falling, Owls Head reached its capacity and workers started shutting the intake gates.

That caused a rising tide throughout Brooklyn’s sewers, and untreated feces and industrial waste started spilling from emergency relief valves into the Upper New York Bay and Gowanus Canal.  “It happens anytime you get a hard rainfall,” said Bob Connaughton, one the plant’s engineers. “Sometimes all it takes is 20 minutes of rain, and you’ve got overflows across Brooklyn.”

One goal of the Clean Water Act of 1972 was to upgrade the nation’s sewer systems, many of them built more than a century ago, to handle growing populations and increasing runoff of rainwater and waste. During the 1970s and 1980s, Congress distributed more than $60 billion to cities to make sure that what goes into toilets, industrial drains and street grates would not endanger human health. But despite those upgrades, many sewer systems are still frequently overwhelmed, according to a New York Times analysis of environmental data. As a result, sewage is spilling into waterways.

In the last three years alone, more than 9,400 of the nation’s 25,000 sewage systems — including those in major cities — have reported violating the law by dumping untreated or partly treated human waste, chemicals and other hazardous materials into rivers and lakes and elsewhere, according to data from state environmental agencies and the Environmental Protection Agency.

But fewer than one in five sewage systems that broke the law were ever fined or otherwise sanctioned by state or federal regulators, the Times analysis shows.  It is not clear whether the sewage systems that have not reported such dumping are doing any better, because data on overflows and spillage are often incomplete.

As cities have grown rapidly across the nation, many have neglected infrastructure projects and paved over green spaces that once absorbed rainwater. That has contributed to sewage backups into more than 400,000 basements and spills into thousands of streets, according to data collected by state and federal officials. Sometimes, waste has overflowed just upstream from drinking water intake points or near public beaches.

There is no national record-keeping of how many illnesses are caused by sewage spills. But academic research suggests that as many as 20 million people each year become ill from drinking water containing bacteria and other pathogens that are often spread by untreated waste.

A 2007 study published in the journal Pediatrics, focusing on one Milwaukee hospital, indicated that the number of children suffering from serious diarrhea rose whenever local sewers overflowed. Another study, published in 2008 in the Archives of Environmental and Occupational Health, estimated that as many as four million people become sick each year in California from swimming in waters containing the kind of pollution often linked to untreated sewage.

Around New York City, samples collected at dozens of beaches or piers have detected the types of bacteria and other pollutants tied to sewage overflows. Though the city’s drinking water comes from upstate reservoirs, environmentalists say untreated excrement and other waste in the city’s waterways pose serious health risks.

A Deluge of Sewage

“After the storm, the sewage flowed down the street faster than we could move out of the way and filled my house with over a foot of muck,” said Laura Serrano, whose Bay Shore, N.Y., home was damaged in 2005 by a sewer overflow.

Ms. Serrano, who says she contracted viral meningitis because of exposure to the sewage, has filed suit against Suffolk County, which operates the sewer system. The county’s lawyer disputes responsibility for the damage and injuries.

“I had to move out, and no one will buy my house because the sewage was absorbed into the walls,” Ms. Serrano said. “I can still smell it sometimes.”

When a sewage system overflows or a treatment plant dumps untreated waste, it is often breaking the law. Today, sewage systems are the nation’s most frequent violators of the Clean Water Act. More than a third of all sewer systems — including those in San Diego, Houston, Phoenix, San Antonio, Philadelphia, San Jose and San Francisco — have violated environmental laws since 2006, according to a Times analysis of E.P.A. data.

Thousands of other sewage systems operated by smaller cities, colleges, mobile home parks and companies have also broken the law. But few of the violators are ever punished.

This year’s Collection System Conference mission is to create an atmosphere aimed at providing an exchange of ideas for enhancing our environment by providing a gathering ground for professionals alike. WEF’s hosts from Raleigh have dedicated significant local resources to the technical program, tours and social event which will compliment the conference proceedings very well.  WEF believe that this year’s conference will generate an atmosphere of learning and promote the exchange of ideas to further the goals and objectives of those serving in the collection systems industry.

Telepipe and I.T. representatives will be on-site to showcase the I.T.pipes software and discuss Telepipe’s implementation services.

• Performing field inspections?  If your looking to perform manhole, lateral, or pipe inspections stop by and see our easy to use field collection software, including I.T.pipes unique  HotButtons© and video recording controls!
• Reviewing inspections or planning projects?  For full inspection management, ask for a demo of I.T.pipes office tools, you’ll be amazed at the efficient underground inspection management tools that are part of our core license!  if your looking for comprehensive reporting, you’ll be amazed at our fully featured analysis module that includes SmartTabs©!
• GIS integration?  Stop here!  I.T.pipes software has full data transfer and application launching tools to exchange data with your ESRI GIS seamlessly.
• AMS integration?  If your using Cityworks® or other asset management applications, stop and see us to learn more about our comprehensive integration options that help you with work order management and tracking.

Telepipe Service is pleased to provide full I.T.pipes implementations and turn your collection software into a comprehensive inspection management program – come see us next week to learn more!

For more information on the WEF conference, click here.

For more information on the conference, click here.

For pictures from the conference, check out below – thanks everyone for the great smiles! 

Under the CCTV Inspection Software Contract, awarded June 28, I.T. was required to provide live demonstrations showing versatility in data management and integration. I.T. will now be required to provide infrastructure support for implementation of the new application including hardware, software, installation, configuration and training. The contract contains options that, if exercised, will call for I.T. to implement fully automated wireless synchronization from the field to the office, install software in up to 20 cctv Aries/Cues and PipeHunter cctv inspection units, and fully integrate with the ESRI GIS system.

Al Rossmeisl, CFO of I.T., states “We consider award of the WSSC contract a major milestone for our I.T.pipes software. This strategic customer will increase our visibility in the mid-Atlantic area. Our company is the most experienced with inspection software in the U.S. market and our personnel have implemented inspection management for some of America’s most demanding municipal clients. Bringing WSSC on board demonstrates again why Cori (Criss) and her team continue to be the “go to” experts in pipeline inspection software.

About WSSC: WSSC is the 8th largest water and wastewater utility in the nation, serving nearly 1.8 million residents and approximately 460,000 customer accounts in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties over an area of nearly 1,000 square miles. We operate and maintain eight water and wastewater plants, more than 5,500 miles of fresh water pipeline and nearly 5,400 miles of sewer pipeline. We currently employ approximately 1,500 people. In our more than 90 year history, our drinking water has always met or exceeded federal standards. The Customer Care Wastewater Collection System Group (WSCG) is responsible for the proper maintenance and operation of the wastewater collection system.

Come see us to learn more about I.T.pipes for underground inspection! This innovative pipeline inspection software will make you rethink the inspection process in the field and in the office.  I.T.pipes makes integration to other applications simple, with many pre-defined modules already in place for bridging the gap between your pipe inspection software and GIS or AMS/CMMS applications.

PennTec is back in State College at the Penn State Conference Center Hotel on June 13-16, 2010. Technical Conference sessions offered will cover topics including: Biosolids; Collection Systems; Engineers; Financing/Grants; Industrial Waste Pre- treatment; Nutrient Removal Technology; Research; Water Reuse. Each PennTec conference session has been approved by the PA DEP for 1.0 wastewater contact hour. PWEA is also offering five Specialty Workshops, which offer detailed instruction and hour-for-hour PA DEP contact hours.

1. Safety Workshop – 3.0 water & wastewater contact hours
2. Utility Management/PWO Workshop – 6.0 water & wastewater contact hours
3. Activated Sludge 2-Day Workshop – 16.0 wastewater contact hours
4. Laboratory Workshop – 6.5 water & wastewater contact hours
5. Collection Systems Workshop – 2.0 wastewater contact hours

Telepipe Service has years of experience in the day-to-day private sector for pipeline inspection, repair and assessment.  Our team of professionals can help you choose equipment, plan resources, develop workflows and processes, provide documentation and standard operating procedures and more.

We are an Authorized I.T. Dealer, providing  I.T.pipes in the Northeast.  The pipe inspection software is easy-to-use and provides reporting like no other software on the market!  Come for a demonstration and we’ll be glad to show you how I.T.pipes can replace and integrate with your existing underground asset management software applications such as GIS or AMS/CMMS.

Stop and see us!