46 Search Results for sewer overflows

Oct 10

2012

4 billion gallons of sewage goes where?

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Buffalo is one of the few Great Lakes cities that doesn’t have an EPA-approved long-term control plan that takes advantage of green technologies for its wastewater. And mayors across the nation—minus Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and a bunch of others—were in the nation’s capital last week to discuss how the federal regulations will cost municipalities billions to improve their wastewater treatment systems. Mike DeGeorge, the mayor’s spokesman, did not return messages seeking comment. Buffalo Sewer Authority dumps 4 billion gallons of untreated wastewater into local waterways each year, typically after heavy rainstorms  overburden the system. Yes, that’s 4 BILLION GALLONS. According to EPA Regional Administrator[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Apr 30

2023

Monday Morning Read

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Subscribe to our WeeklyPost newsletter and you’ll get Jim Heaney’s recommended reading – and a whole lot more – in your inbox Sunday mornings. The deal to build the Titans a new stadium in Nashville (the current venue is only 24 years old) will involve a larger upfront taxpayer handout than the deal here in Buffalo. The daily paper down there has the details, The Buffalo News compares the deals and Neil deMause of Field of Schemes offers his analysis.  He also reports on a new deal in Calgary to build a $1.2 billion arena for the NHL Flames. Meanwhile, The Toronto Star reported that the Ottawa Senators, a[...]

Posted 12 months ago

Aug 2

2021

Popular waterways contaminated by bacteria 

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E. coli is a nasty waterborne bacteria that can cause vomiting and diarrhea. Authorities close beaches when levels exceed safety limits. But they’re doing next to nothing about unsafe readings in other local waterways. There’s a particular problem with the Black Rock Canal, popular with fishermen, the occasional swimmer and, most notably, the West Side Rowing Club and high school and college crew teams. E. coli readings consistently exceed safe limits — by up to 14 times — established by the federal government. “There are people coming in contact with water with E. coli from human feces every single day,”[...]

Posted 3 years ago

May 8

2015

Progress to report on Scajaquada Creek

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There is limited, but noteworthy progress to report some 10 month after Investigative Post and WGRZ reported on the sorry state of Scajaquada Creek. The Town of Cheektowaga is poised to sell more than $12 million in bonds to finance the first phase of work to line sewer pipes to seal cracks and update infrastructure in the Winston-Vegola neighborhoods which have the most sewer overflow problems in the town. Another $41 million in planned work will be spread out over a decade. The Buffalo Sewer Authority, meanwhile, continues to study the feasibility of treating more of Cheektowaga’s sewage to reduce overflows into the[...]

Posted 9 years ago

Dec 30

2013

Our top stories of the year

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This is the time of year when news organizations look back at the biggest stories of the past 12 months, and while I hate to follow any pack, such a review is in order for our fledgling organization. Dan Telvock and I produced some 55 stories, 75 blog posts and a dozen in-depth interviews in 2013. That body of work was read, viewed and listened to by a collective audience that approached 6 million through our website and news outlets that distributed our stories, primarily WGRZ TV, and also Artvoice, WBFO FM and The Buffalo News. I’m especially pleased with[...]

Posted 10 years ago

Mar 13

2013

Buffalo a little greener in Lower West Side

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In the summer it is not unusual to see children swimming in Black Rock Canal directly across from a pipe that can spew untreated sewer, storm runoff and toxic industrial chemicals into the water. As gross and dangerous as that sounds, the following details may not be for those with weak stomachs. Consider yourself warned. Each year about 52 million gallons of untreated storm runoff, industrial waste water and sewage enter Black Rock Canal. There are 14 permitted overflow pipes in this canal alone. Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper says some of the bacteria tests it conducted in the canal showed E. coli[...]

Posted 11 years ago