|
| Below
is a slideshow presented at the Mishawaka Citizen
Advisory Committee meeting concerning the latest
information about the Combined Sewer Overflow
efforts. Click HERE to
launch. |
|
Below
is a video concerning the Combined Sewer Overflow
and it's impact on the St. Joseph River as it relates
to Mishawaka, South Bend, and Elkhart, Indiana.
Click HERE to
launch. |
|
Combined Sewer Overflow Update January 2009
Dear Friends and Neighbors:
In this time of economic
uncertainty, getting the most out of every dollar is
more important than ever. Just like individuals, cities
face expenses that cannot be avoided. One such expense
is the federal requirement to address combined sewer
overflows. Combined sewer systems carry storm water
and raw sewage in the same pipes. Combined sewer systems
were built prior to the 1950’s, and can discharge
untreated sewage and storm water to the river at structures
called combined sewer overflows (CSOs) when there are
heavy rains. These overflow points protect houses from
basement flooding and prevent sewage from backing up
onto streets and yards, and were considered a cost
effective way of dealing with the overflow of storm
waters. (View
a Slideshow by Clicking HERE.)
Today, however, the systems do not meet with standards
for environmental sustainability. There are 770 CSO
communities in the United States which serve about
40 million people. Mishawaka is one of more than 100
Indiana communities with combined sewers. As a result
of the negative environmental issues they create, Federal
law has recently required all cities with combined
sewers to develop long-term control plans to reduce
or eliminate CSOs.
The elimination of combined sewer
overflows is difficult and expensive—it is not
simply matter of fixing something that is broken. Correcting
CSOs will require redesigning large parts of our sewer
system, including expanding wastewater plants, increasing
sewer sizes, building storage tanks and tunnels, and
building new separate storm and sanitary sewers.
Mishawaka has taken a very proactive stance on the
issue of correcting CSO systems within the City: early
action projects have reduced annual CSO volume by 85%
since 1990. The city is close to reaching an agreement
with the EPA on a plan to take care of our remaining
CSOs. Mishawaka’s long-term control plan will
result in the elimination of overflows in years with
average rainfall. Our plan is cost-effective but will
still be expensive. Because of the $140 million estimated
cost of controlling our remaining CSOs, the city is
seeking a 20 year schedule to complete the project.
Although we are committed to minimizing rate increases
necessary to pay for our long term control plan, we
ask you to understand that CSO control is a Federal
mandate and therefore, City officials do not have the
option to not take action. Our long term control plan
will have to receive Federal approval. Currently the
cost of CSO control falls completely on local communities.
A series of sewer rate increases will be necessary
to begin the implementation of the long-term control
plan.
The City is already involved in an aggressive search
for other funding sources that may lessen the impact
on our ratepayers. These efforts will continue for
the duration of the CSO control program implementation.
We have met with Indiana’s congressional offices
to explore possible grants or earmark funding, and
have submitted projects that may be considered for
funding as a part of the federal infrastructure stimulus
program. As always, we will seek low interest state
loans if we must borrow to pay for projects. TIF funding
may also be used to help offset rate increases. Mishawaka
will continue to work toward cost-effective solutions
for a cleaner St. Joseph River and healthier neighborhoods.
(View
a Video by Clicking HERE.)
HISTORICAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Update October 2008
The reduction of CSO that flows into the river during
wet weather continues to be one of the City’s
top priorities. The expansion of the wastewater treatment
plant reduced our existing CSO volume by 60%, but much
work remains. In 1990 there were approximately 350
million gallons of CSO that flowed into the river.
A combination of sewer separation projects and treatment
plant upgrades has reduced this annual volume by over
300 million gallons per year.
During 2008 the City of Mishawaka continued negotiation
with the EPA, the Indiana Department of Environmental
Management, and the Department of Justice over its
CSO Long Term Control Plan (LTCP). The City is preparing
to submit its final draft of the LTCP to the above
mentioned agencies by the end of October. The plan
will vastly reduce the occurrence of CSO, from the
current 50 overflows per year to less than one overflow
per year. This plan takes into account the expansion
of the treatment plant and future modifications to
the collection system that include increasing existing
sewer capacities, additional sewer separation, and
storage in underground basins and tunnels. During wet
weather these storage facilities will hold back excess
flows until the rain subsides. These stored flows will
then be put back into the sewer system for treatment
at the wastewater plant.
Our goal was to have an approved LTCP by the end of
2008. Once the LTCP is approved, the Department of
Justice will incorporate it into a federal consent
decree, and mandate the City of Mishawaka to comply
to this standard. Because of the high cost of further
CSO reductions, it is expected that the implementation
of the LTCP will take 20 years to complete. The LTCP
implementation schedule will be dictated by our ability
to pay for the needed improvements. The cost for meeting
the future CSO reduction requirements could exceed
$140 million.
The City of Mishawaka knows its future relies on a
clean and healthy St. Joseph River. The Mishawaka Riverwalk,
now in its final phases of construction, is a cornerstone
of the city’s economic development efforts. When
completed in 2009, the Riverwalk will connect downtown
Mishawaka to many neighborhoods and parks along the
river. Protecting the water quality in the river makes
good economic and environmental sense. Mishawaka’s
economy also benefits from hundreds of sport fishermen
who visit each year to catch migratory salmon and trout.
Recent surveys of fish populations in the river have
found over 80 species of fish in the Saint Joseph River.
Because of our continuing efforts to improve water
quality the fishing is so good that the Department
of natural Resources has nicknamed the city “Fishawaka”.
Visit the Mishawaka Utilities web site and click on
CSO INFO to learn more about CSOs and projects we are
implementing to reduce combined sewer overflows.
Combined Sewer Overflow Update 2007
Treatment of wastewater isn’t something we think much about.
As long as the sink drains and the toilet flushes, we give it no
further thought. However, wastewater treatment is one of the vital
services provided by our city. The British Medical Journal recently
asked experts to list the greatest medical advance from the past
150 years. The final outcome of the survey might shock you. The winner
was sanitation – including wastewater treatment and clean drinking
water. Mishawaka is proud to provide both to our citizens.
We completed the upgrade and expansion of our wastewater treatment
plant project which began in late 2004, located in the former Lincoln
Park. The expansion was needed to provide treatment capacity for
our growing community and to reduce combined sewer overflows (CSOs)
into the river during large rainstorms. The average capacity of the
treatment plant is being increased from 12 million gallons per day
to 20 million gallons. The peak capacity, to treat increased flow
during wet weather and reduce CSOs, increased from 24 to 42 mgd.
Combined sewers carry sanitary sewage and storm water in the same
pipes. Combined sewers were built in the first half of the last century;
the practice is no longer allowed. There are still over 90 combined
sewer communities in Indiana and over 900 nationwide.
During large rainstorms, there is not enough capacity in the combined
sewers and treatment plant to handle all the flow. When this happens,
excess flow is discharged to the river from combined sewer overflow
points (CSOs). These relief points are necessary to prevent basement
back-ups and street flooding. The wastewater plant expansion reduced
the current combined sewer overflow volume by about 50%. Since 1990
Mishawaka has reduced CSO discharges by over 85% by sewer separation
projects and plant expansions. All new sewer construction is separated.
Sanitary sewers send sewage to the wastewater treatment plant; storm
sewers send storm water to the river. Still, about 30% of Mishawaka’s
sewer system remains combined.
EPA is mandating Mishawaka and all other CSO communities to address
our remaining overflows. We are developing a long term control plan
to reduce overflows, through further sewer separation, upgrade of
sewer capacity, and building underground storage tanks to hold wet
weather flow until it can be sent to the treatment plant for processing.
The positive impact of the changes we have already made will be felt
for generations; but, there is still much to do so that we will have
capacity for continued growth and development, and the reduction
in CSO volume as we continue our progress in protecting the Saint
Joseph River.
|
