Down the drain
Dumping of untreated sewage into Lake Superior to end in 2016
Scott Schmidley
Issue date: 11/18/09 Section: Outdoors
Lake Superior boasts the title of largest freshwater lake by surface in the world, and as a city of its coast, Duluth holds a responsibility to maintain the health of its intricate ecosystem by keeping the water clean.
Between 1999 and 2004, the city of Duluth and the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District (WLSSD) experienced at least 250 sewer overflows, which resulted in the dumping of at least 47 million gallons of untreated sewage into the St. Louis River and Lake Superior, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Still occurring in 2009, these overflows generally happen during times of heavy rain. Clear water enters and overwhelms the sewer system leading to untreated sewage flowing into the lake.
A consent decree was lodged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota on June 23. This is a legal document created by the EPA, Department of Justice and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency that requires the City of Duluth and WLSSD to completely eliminate sewer overflows into Lake Superior by 2016.
"We have made great progress over the past 10 years in reducing overflows, but now our challenge is to eliminate them completely," Duluth Mayor Don Ness said. "All told, the city will spend between $70 to $90 million in upgrades to our sanitary sewer infrastructure."
Duluth's 400 miles of trunk sewers and WLSSD's 75 miles of regional interceptor sewers are only a small portion of the problem. Karen Anderson, director of Community Relations at WLSSD said, "Economically speaking, it is better to stop the problem at the source. However, that the deadlines in the consent decree don't allow enough time for this."
During heavy rains, storm water from homes and businesses is supposed to be absorbed into the ground or flow out into the street, down the storm sewer and eventually into Lake Superior. But in many Duluth homes with aging or illegal plumbing connections, storm water enters the sanitary sewer lines and overwhelms the system, causing this sewage/rainwater mix to overflow into the natural environment.
Between 1999 and 2004, the city of Duluth and the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District (WLSSD) experienced at least 250 sewer overflows, which resulted in the dumping of at least 47 million gallons of untreated sewage into the St. Louis River and Lake Superior, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Still occurring in 2009, these overflows generally happen during times of heavy rain. Clear water enters and overwhelms the sewer system leading to untreated sewage flowing into the lake.
A consent decree was lodged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota on June 23. This is a legal document created by the EPA, Department of Justice and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency that requires the City of Duluth and WLSSD to completely eliminate sewer overflows into Lake Superior by 2016.
"We have made great progress over the past 10 years in reducing overflows, but now our challenge is to eliminate them completely," Duluth Mayor Don Ness said. "All told, the city will spend between $70 to $90 million in upgrades to our sanitary sewer infrastructure."
Duluth's 400 miles of trunk sewers and WLSSD's 75 miles of regional interceptor sewers are only a small portion of the problem. Karen Anderson, director of Community Relations at WLSSD said, "Economically speaking, it is better to stop the problem at the source. However, that the deadlines in the consent decree don't allow enough time for this."
During heavy rains, storm water from homes and businesses is supposed to be absorbed into the ground or flow out into the street, down the storm sewer and eventually into Lake Superior. But in many Duluth homes with aging or illegal plumbing connections, storm water enters the sanitary sewer lines and overwhelms the system, causing this sewage/rainwater mix to overflow into the natural environment.
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