“COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) – The Department of Health and Environmental Control is monitoring the cleanup of a Richland County creek after a sewer overflow sent thousands of gallons of raw sewage into a nearby creek.

DHEC spokesman Adam Myrick said the spill happened around 1:00pm on Alconbury Court, near Broad River Road. Myrick said about 2,000 gallons of sewage entered Stoops Creek before Alpine Utilities was able to fix the overflow.” ( source )

So… What does that mean for residents in the area? In the grand scheme of things, not a whole lot since the leak contained household grade sewage which quickly dissipates into the environment in most cases. In the immediate area of the spill, however, the organization responsible for the leak will, by law, need to take the necessary precautions to make sure all hazardous material gets neutralized and/or removed.

The danger of accidental spills?

We believe the true danger of accidental waste water and sewage spills lies in how long it takes for someone to realize a problem exists. If a water treatment or storage facility does not have proper monitoring devices in place to keep an eye on things, tragic incidents where large amounts of unfiltered, unsafe water enters the environment can occur before anyone has a clue that a problem even exists.

Thankfully 99.999% (estimating, of course!) of all water treatment facilities — public and private — have up-to-date, current and fully functional equipment that never fails. Right?

So… What can the average person do?

Environmental watchdogs perform routine water testing in areas where they suspect potential violations. They cannot, however, test every body of water or water source so therefore, we encourage average citizens to keep tabs on water quality in their immediate surroundings.

While the common homeowner probably won’t want to invest in the equipment used by some of the watchdog organizations because of cost, simple test kits such as the Well Driller Master Test Kit make repeated testing of water sources for a series of water quality parameters a breeze.

Don’t let the name ‘well driller test kit’ fool you. The water parameters tested by that kit could very easily pertain to pretty much any water from any source… and not just water coming from wells.

Looking for something even simpler, yet still quite useful? Take a look at the Eco-Check Test Strips made by SenSafe / WaterWorks which allow users to monitor five key indicators of environmental water quality at the same time: nitrate, nitrite, hardness, alkalinity, and pH.

Radical shifts in any or all of those five parameters could mean more serious contamination issues exist in a water supply.

It all comes down to this: A little bit of testing could warn of a potentially big problem.

It’s your water, your health… and ultimately your life!

Emergency alarms at the wastewater treatment facility did not, for some reason, get noticed until the next morning.

DENVER (AP) — A mechanical failure at Denver International Airport sent up to 1 million gallons of raw sewage and industrial wastewater into creeks and canals flowing toward the Barr Lake fishery and bird sanctuary.

Airport spokesman Jeff Green says the spill appears to have started about 7 p.m. Tuesday when a pump malfunctioned. He says employees didn’t notice a backup alarm. Maintenance crews made the discovery Wednesday morning. The reason for the malfunction is unclear.

Tri-County Health Department environmental health director Tom Butts says it wasn’t immediately clear whether any contamination made it off airport property.

Airport, state and county health officials were testing the water to determine if there is a health or environmental threat. ( source )

Accidents happen. Malfunctions happen. This time it happened at an airport, a place required to report pretty much any and every encroachment on the environment. Think about this, though… Do you think privately held companies report ALL of their environmental blunders and stick around to clean them up?

Stories about accidental sewage discharges or other dumpings of wastewater deemed illegal may not always make the news. That means you may not always hear or know about them and in some cases that may also mean no one felt obligated to do anything about them… ‘cuz if no one outside the offending company found out about the spill, then no one can make the offending company spend the money needed to clean up the mess.