Zero Sewer Overflows -- A Vision for Milwaukee (and elsewhere??)

November 25, 2009 | Clean Water, Stormwater & Sewage

Katherine Baer
Senior Director, Clean Water Program

It’s raining here in Washington D.C. right now, undoubtedly triggering raw sewage to flow from the Combined Sewer System into the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers. Another great water story in the New York Times, As Sewers Fill, Waste Poisons Waterways, described the prevalence of the problem:

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…

This is why American Rivers advocates for sewage right to know laws, to ensure that people know when there’s a sewage spill so they can keep safe, and for green infrastructure to reverse the trend described above to reduce sewer overflows by reducing the burden on stressed water infrastructure.

In fact, I recently spent the day in Milwaukee visiting our new office that is focused on working with the City and other partners to increase green infrastructure to reduce sewage overflows and flooding. Milwaukee, a city plagued by sewer overflows, is taking a progressive and integrated approach to reducing these overflows. Kevin Shafer, Executive Director of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) laid out a vision for integrated watershed management for 2035 that includes zero basement backups, zero sanitary sewer overflows, and zero combined sewer overflows!

There may be an even simpler way to illustrate the benefits of a greener approach – in describing the decision to use green infrastructure in some areas instead of a “deep tunnel,” Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said:

“The problem with a traditional pipes and plants approach is that the public doesn’t get any direct enjoyment with this type of hidden infrastructure, as I call it. You can’t hold a picnic or a tailgate party in a Deep Tunnel…”

Well put, don’t you think?

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