Sewage Dumping Season in Milwaukee

UPDATE, April 30, 2009: 235 million gallons of sewage overflowed, MMSD says
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April showers bring MMSD's sewage dumps into Lake Michigan.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Sunday's rains sent millions of gallons of storm water into sewers and into the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District's deep tunnel, causing overflows, MMSD officials said.

Forecasts of more rain later in the day prompted district workers to begin closing gates from combined sewers to the deep tunnel around 2:45 p.m. Sunday, district spokesman Bill Graffin said. Overflows started soon after that.

The emergency step was taken to preserve space in the tunnel for excessive flows from sanitary sewers in the remainder of the district's service area, Graffin said.

Basement backups and sanitary sewer overflows would occur if the tunnels filled to capacity.

At 5 p.m. Sunday, the Northwest Side deep tunnel was at nearly 80% capacity.

This tunnel segment receives only flows from separate sanitary sewers during storms.

The remainder of the tunnel system was approaching 50% capacity at that time.

Earlier Sunday, the district began blending partly treated sewage and fully treated wastewater at its Jones Island plant.

A state permit allows the district to blend up to 60 million gallons a day during a storm to temporarily boost treatment capacity at Jones Island and reduce flows from the combined sewer area into the deep tunnel.

Combined sewers continue to deliver most of their diluted sewage to treatment plants during an overflow.

Between Saturday and Sunday evening, 3.77 inches of rain had fallen on the northwest side of Milwaukee, according to an MMSD rain gauge in the 8400 block of N. Granville Road.

A rain gauge in the 5600 block of S. New Berlin Road in Hales Corners measured 3.16 inches, while a district gauge at N. 25th St., immediately north of I-94, measured 2.96 inches.

Although the rain let up a bit across most of southeastern Wisconsin on Sunday night, more showers and thunderstorms are expected in the region by Monday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

This article dances around the truth.

There's a lot of talk about blends and overflows and closing gates.

Bottom line: Sewage is being dumped into the lake and waterways.

Just say it.

Sewage backing up into basements causes a serious health risk. Who wants their home and belongings coated in sewage? Anyone?

I think the decision to dump is the lesser evil.

Still, I don't think the act should be cloaked in terms that are intended to deceive.