blogmaster's note: Another sewage spill in St. Joseph, this time partially treated. These large spills due to equipment malfunction are what makes the news, but in many communities along the river (including St. Joseph, Kansas City, Omaha, others) raw sewage is released everytime it rains. This is due to Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) in which old sewer systems mix stormwater and wastewater when it rains. Wastewater treatment plants are unable to handle the increased load and often end up redirecting flow straight into tributaries or the Missouri River.
A lot of work in these communities is going on upgrading their wastewater systems. St. Joseph is one of these.
The article below was originally published in the St. Joseph News-Press on March 14.
Click here for original link.
A pump failure late Friday night contributed to the release of an estimated 1.2 million gallons of partially treated wastewater from St. Joseph’s wastewater treatment system.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources said Monday that the release was combined with increased stormwater runoff. City officials notified the department early Saturday, reporting that a pump in a pump station between the primary and secondary treatment facilities malfunctioned a day earlier. The malfunction allowed the partially treated wastewater to overflow to the Missouri River.
Since the wastewater was already partially treated — and because of the increase of stormwater contributing to the overflow — the release is not expected to affect drinking water systems down river, according to officials.
The department considers discharges of wastewater from sanitary sewer collection systems to be potential threats to public health and the environment. Sanitary sewer overflows can be caused by mechanical failure, obstructions in sewer lines, infiltrations of rainwater and snow melt into aging systems, or undersized systems that cannot compensate for sudden increases in wastewater.
The department said it requires Missouri communities to take appropriate action to eliminate their sanitary sewer overflow issues.
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