46 Search Results for sewer overflows

Sep 25

2014

EPA’s new Great Lakes plan helps Buffalo River

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By 2019, enough toxic pollutants should be removed from the Buffalo River to thrust its rebound toward a level of health that would allow people to once again safely eat the fish and possibly even enjoy a swim. That’s one of the chief goals of the Environmental Protection Agency’s second phase of its Great Lakes restoration initiative. But Jill Jedlicka, the executive director of the Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, cautioned that there won’t be instant gratification for fishermen and swimmers. “It doesn’t mean that by 2019 that you will be able to eat the fish or swim in the water,” said Jedlicka, whose nonprofit group[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Sep 4

2014

Progress on Scajaquada Creek pollution

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After years of inaction, local and state officials are acting to stem the flow of sewage overflows into the badly polluted Scajaquada Creek. Following a series of stories by Investigative Post last month that aired on WGRZ and published in Artvoice: The Buffalo Sewer Authority, which treats Cheektowaga’s sewage, proposed several options to reduce the flow of untreated sewage into the creek after heavy and moderate rains. The most promising option could cut the volume of overflows by about half, according to town Supervisor Mary Holtz. Town of Cheektowaga has retained an engineering firm to develop a new blueprint to[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Aug 8

2014

Toxic algae blooms not in eastern Lake Erie

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The toxic algae blooms in western Lake Erie that led to a shut down of the public water supply in Toledo, Ohio for a weekend have not reached the Buffalo area. That’s according to the Erie County Health Department, which this week tested a dozen spots, including four samples at two public water intakes. The health department says that microcystin, the toxin released from some algae blooms, was not detected at any of the 12 spots. Sites tested were: Sturgeon Point intakes (2), Buffalo intakes (2), Hamburg Beach, Woodlawn Beach, Evans (Lake Erie Beach, Evans Town Park, Bennett Beach, Wendt Beach), Brant[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Jul 30

2014

Cheektowaga pledges action on Scajaquada

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There is progress to report on Scajaquada Creek. The creek has been badly polluted by the dumping of more than 500 million gallons a year of sewage and untreated stormwater runoff by Buffalo and Cheektowaga. As a result, the Scajaquada is plagued by high bacteria levels , botulism that kills birds and sludge up to five feet deep in parts of the creek bed. Town of Cheektowaga officials, who to this point have dodged questions since our initial report two weeks ago, acknowledged to Dan Telvock of Investigative Post that the dumping is a serious problem that they need to address.[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Jul 24

2014

Disgust and outrage along Scajaquada Creek

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Two state senators are demanding the Department of Environmental Conservation take aggressive action to address sewer overflows that have contaminated Scajaquada Creek. Senators Mark Grisanti and Tim Kennedy, whose districts include the creek, called for action Monday after witnessing a repulsive scene that included trash filled creek water, three dead ducks, and a fourth paralyzed and gasping for air in a pool of garbage and sewage. Grisanti and Kennedy, sickened by what they saw in the creek near Delaware Park’s Hoyt Lake, said they will make it a priority to clean up Scajaquada Creek and advocate for more money to[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Jul 24

2014

State complicit in defiling of Scajaquada Creek

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Way back in 1993 the state Department of Environmental Conversation told the City of Buffalo to dredge Scajaquada Creek to remove decaying human excrement and other sludge that was up to five feet deep in some places. The city refused — and the DEC did nothing. In 2008 the DEC used an enforcement order to force the Town of Cheektowaga to submit a plan to reduce sewer overflows into the creek. The DEC rejected that plan in 2010—and has done nothing since then to force the issue. In the interim, Cheektowaga has dumped more than one billion gallons of raw[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Jul 17

2014

The Scajaquada is a crippled creek

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Municipalities dump more than a half billion gallons of sewage mixed with untreated stormwater into the creek annually. That putrid cocktail has fouled the creek’s water in a variety of ways. Sludge composed of decaying human feces and other contaminants is up to five feet deep in places along the creek bottom. Fecal bacteria is present at levels up to 20 times higher than what’s considered safe for recreational use. Avian botulism, which has paralyzed and eventually killed hundreds, if not thousands of birds over the years, lurks in a stretch that cuts through Forest Lawn Cemetery and Delaware Park.[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Apr 14

2014

‘Big victory’ for Buffalo water quality

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The Buffalo Sewer Authority will spend $380 million on upgrades to its century-old sewer system over the next 20 years that will drastically reduce the amount of raw sewage and untreated stormwater flowing into the Niagara River and its tributaries. The authority agreed to the improvements under pressure from the Environmental Protection Agency, which determined in 2004 that the city was violating the Clean Water Act. “This is a big victory,” said Judith Enck, EPA’s administrator for Region 2 that includes New York. “We think this formal agreement will make a big difference in terms of improving water quality in[...]

Posted 10 years ago