Huntington is the latest West Virginia city to consider how it will pay for the federally-mandated requirement to separate its storm water and its sanitary sewer systems. Like most cities, Huntington has one series of interconnected pipes for the two systems, which lead to the waste water treatment plant. This works well when it isn't raining. When it rains heavily, the the plant is overwhelmed, and a mixture of storm water and raw sewage is discharged into the Guyandotte and the Ohio Rivers. This is referred to as a combined sewer overflow, or CSO, and it is common throughout the nation.
It is extremely expensive to separate systems and install sufficient treatment of storm water to meet water quality standards. EPA is starting to crack down on cities that have not taken care of this problem, and cities are being forced to consider where they will get the hundreds of millions of dollars needed to implement the necessary changes. The amount of federal funds available is completely inadequate for all that has to be done. Some cities have bitten the bullet and increased sewer fees, as I believe Charleston has.
Once again, Huntington has proven itself to be the most beautiful city in West Virginia, with the lousiest governance. If you want to see an article on the city's reaction to the CSO problem, see http://www.huntingtonnews.net/local/080607-rutherford-localsewerrateincrease.html
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment