Water Treatment 101: Scale

Scale  is a serious problem caused by the deposit of hardness minerals (mainly calcium and magnesium).   Hardness can block piping systems, causing the loss of water pressure due to reduced pipe diameter, and it can greatly reduce the effectiveness of home heating systems and hot water heaters. Scaled pipes and appliances waste energy and money.

Scaling is caused by hardness of water.  Hardness is defined, in simple terms, as the amount of calcium and magnesium present in the water.  Hardness is measured either in parts per million or as grains per gallon.  Water treatment professionals most often use grains per gallon.  The conversion is easy: a “grain” is equal to about 17.1  parts per million.

Although there is no absolute standard, water is usually considered  hard enough to cause problems at about 4 grains per gallon, and it is considered hard enough to require treatment at 7 grains per gallon and up. There is no upper limit on hardness, but water of 100 grains per gallon is rare.

The standard residential treatment for hard water is the conventional water softener, which exchanges sodium ions for the hard water minerals, calcium and magnesium. Conventional softeners are proven, reliable tools.  They use salt in the softening process.   In recent years a number of electronic and non-electronic softener substitutes have come on the market. Some of these are more effective than others.  Template Assisted Crystallization (called TAC) is now the most widely used of the alternative scale preventives.   TAC units not only prevent scale buildup but they remove existing scale as well.

 

More information:

Hard Water

How Water Softeners Work

Template Assisted Crystallization

The EPA Has Launched A Program, SepticSmart, To Help Homeowners Care for Their Septic Systems

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 25 percent of U.S. households—more than 26 million homes—and almost one-third of new developments are serviced by septic systems.  If properly built and properly maintained, a septic system can provide years of trouble-free and environmentally safe disposal of wastewater and sewage for a home.

A septic system typically consists of a septic tank and a drain field for the absorption of wastes.   The picture below from the EPA’s website  shows a standard septic setup:

Here’s how it works:

1. All water leaving the home is directed via a single pipe into a septic tank.
2. The septic tank is a buried, water-tight container usually made of concrete, fiberglass, or polyethylene. Its job is to hold the wastewater long enough to allow solids to settle down to the bottom (forming sludge), while the oil and grease floats to the top (as scum).  Compartments and a T-shaped outlet prevent the sludge and scum from leaving the tank and traveling into the drainfield area.
3. The liquid wastewater (effluent) then exits the tank into the drainfield.  If the drainfield is overloaded with too much liquid, it will flood, causing sewage to flow to the ground surface or create backups in toilets and sinks.
4. Finally, the wastewater percolates into the soil, naturally removing harmful coliform bacteria, viruses, and nutrients.

To aid septic tank owners, the EPA recently launched is “SepticSmart” program to promote proper septic system care and maintenance. This national program aims to educate homeowners about proper daily system use and the need for periodic septic system maintenance.  SepticSmart also provides industry practitioners, local governments and community organizations with tools and materials to educate their clients and residents.

Here are some basic tips from SepticSmart:

• Spread out laundry and dishwasher loads throughout the day. Consider fixing plumbing leaks and installing faucet aerators and water-efficient products. Too much water use at once can overload your system, particularly if it hasn’t been pumped in the last couple of years.

• Avoid pouring fats, grease and solids down the drain, which can clog your system.

• Homeowners should have their septic system inspected every three years by a licensed contractor and have their tank pumped when necessary, generally every three to five years. Regular inspection and pumping of a septic system can save homeowners from costly repairs—on average, it costs homeowners $250 to pump their septic system, while the average cost of replacing a conventional septic system is $5,000 – $10,000. As the holidays approach, consider having your tank inspected and pumped.

• Ask guests to only to put things in the toilet that belong there. Dental floss, disposable diapers and wipes, feminine hygiene products, cigarette butts, and cat litter can clog and potentially damage septic systems.

• Remind guests not to park or drive on your system’s drainfield because the vehicle weight could damage buried pipes or disrupt underground flow causing system backups and floods.

For more information, visit www.epa.gov/septicsmart.

 

Rialto perchlorate site not harming drinking water, say state health officials

by Josh Dulaney

Contra Costa Times

 

RIALTO – Drinking water near a contaminated manufacturing site in the north end of town is safe and those who work there are not at risk from exposure to chemicals, state public health officials have concluded.

The BF Goodrich site is a 160-acre area where several companies used perchlorate and trichloroethylene during the production of fireworks and other explosives from 1952 to the mid-1980s.

Trichloroethylene is an industrial cleaning solvent that affects the central nervous system and has been linked with various cancers.

Perchlorate is used in rocket fuels and fireworks. Studies have suggested it can interfere with the functioning of the thyroid gland and mental development.

 

Before the EPA stepped in, the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board oversaw monitoring of the site.

Such sites by law must be cleaned up and companies that dumped the chemicals in many cases are required to pay for the fix.

A settlement agreement between Rialto and the local companies could be signed as soon as December.

The state Department of Public Health worked with the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry in looking at the health effects of the BF Goodrich site’s chemicals on Rialto residents.

The Atlanta-based federal agency is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Investigators looked at the amount of perchlorate and trichloroethylene in the air, soil and groundwater at the site, and whether workers there and nearby residents since 1952 had contact with the chemicals.

In a report released Nov. 5, investigators said those working at the BF Goodrich site “are not at risk from exposure to chemicals in the soil, soil vapor, or groundwater.”

The groundwater at the site contains perchlorate and trichloroethylene, but is deep enough below the surface not to be a threat, and businesses at the site don’t use it for drinking water, according to the report.

Investigators said the drinking water supplied by the city, the West Valley Water District, the Terrace Water Co. and Colton is safe to drink and “does not put people at risk for health problems.”

Manufacturers dumped the chemical waste onto the ground and into pits on the BF Goodrich site.

The chemicals then leaked into the ground and the Rialto-Colton Basin. Manufacturers stopped dumping the chemicals around 1985, but the pits still leaked, according to the report.

Officials test local drinking water regularly to make sure residents aren’t using water with levels of perchlorate and trichloroethylene that could damage their health.

“The reality is we’re not serving contaminated water to our residents,” Councilman Ed Scott said.

Trichloroethylene testing became a requirement in 1989. Perchlorate testing began in 1997.

According to the report, it isn’t possible to know whether eating vegetables or fruits from a garden would have been harmful before 1997.

Investigators said fruits or vegetables could have contained perchlorate if irrigated with perchlorate-contaminated water, “however, there is not enough information to determine how much perchlorate got into the fruits and vegetables.”

The state Department of Public Health conducted a series of meetings with Rialto residents to learn about their concerns about contamination at the BF Goodrich site.

Most of the concerns were about chemicals in the drinking water and whether they could be linked to thyroid diseases, migraines, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, allergies, skin rashes, miscarriages, stillbirths, and birth defects.

They also were worried that children exposed to contaminated water began to talk later than normal.

Other residents asked about white residue left by water.

Investigators concluded that the levels of perchlorate locally would not have been high enough to impact an adult thyroid gland, and exposures in the study would not be expected to cause speech delay.

Perchlorate exposure has not been linked to allergies, skin rashes, miscarriages, stillbirths, or birth defects, according to the report.

Trichloroethylene exposure has not been linked to miscarriages or stillbirths, investigators said. But some who have had direct skin contact with the chemical have reported skin rashes.

High levels of trichloroethylene exposure have been known to cause allergies, according to the report.

Perchlorate has not been shown to cause attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, but studies reveal a possible link between trichloroethylene and the disorder.

According to the report, perchlorate hasn’t been linked to kidney cancer, but both animal and human studies have linked trichloroethylene with the disease. It is unclear as to what amount is related to kidney cancer.

Investigators said the white residue that residents see when water dries on a surface is caused by minerals like calcium and magnesium.

High levels of the minerals are not associated with health problems.

Neither perchlorate nor trichloroethylene leaves a white residue, according to the report.

Editor’s Note:  Reprinted from Contra Costa Times.

More from the EPA Website.

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Cesspools Are Still in Use, and the EPA Is Keeping an Eye on Them

Most of us have no direct experience with cesspools, but the EPA is charged with the responsibility of monitoring them.   Although cesspools exist in other states, they are common only in Hawaii.

Cesspools, which are also called “dry wells,”  are underground holes used throughout Hawaii for the disposal of human waste.  Raw, untreated sewage is discharged directly into the ground via cesspools.  This is not a perfect disposal system, because it often contaminates oceans, streams and ground water by releasing disease-causing pathogens and nitrates.

Beginning in 2005,  EPA regulations required all existing large capacity cesspools to be closed and replaced with an alternative wastewater system.   Since 2000, EPA has prohibited the construction of new large capacity cesspools nationwide.  The regulations do not allow an extension of the deadline.

The EPA recently levied a substantial fine against the Lealani Corp. and Poipu Inn, Inc.,  owners of Brennecke’s Beach Broiler for failing to close two large capacity cesspools in Poipu,  Kauai.

The company will pay a $47,455 fine  and has closed and replaced its two large capacity cesspools. In addition, the company paid for and completed a supplemental environmental project costing over $500,000 to connect the County of Kauai’s restrooms at Poipu Beach Park to the Poipu Wastewater Plant.

EPA does not regulate the cesspools of single family homes or those of non-residential facilities that serve fewer than 20 persons per day and dispose of solely sanitary waste. However, these smaller cesspools may be regulated by state and local governmental agencies (e.g., departments of health).

The definition of a “large cesspool” is complicated (and can be read on the EPA’s website), but in general it means a cesspool that serves over 20 people.

Here is what a cesspool looks like and how it works:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More about cesspools from the EPA’s website.

Simple Chlorine Is An Excellent Way to Make Water Safe In Times of Emergency

Editor’s Note:  The information below is from the makers of Clorox Bleach.  We’ve edited it slightly and added a picture.  We should tell you, too, that other brands of bleach will work, but you should definitely follow  Clorox’s advice and use regular bleach,  not the perfumed variety.  –Hardly Waite.

Boiling Is Best

Short of using a very high-quality water filter, this is the most reliable method for killing microbes and parasites. Bring water to a rolling boil and keep it simmering for at least several minutes. Add one minute of boiling to the initial 10 minutes for every 1,000 feet above sea level. Cover the pot to shorten boiling time and conserve fuel.

Liquid Clorox Bleach

In an emergency, think of this one gallon of Regular Clorox Bleach as 3,800 gallons of drinking water.

When the tap water stops flowing, Regular Clorox Bleach isn’t just a laundry-aid, it’s a lifesaver. Use it to purify water, and you’ll have

Common Laundry Bleach is 5.25% chlorine. That’s 52,500 parts per million. A single gallon of bleach will treat over 3,000 gallons of water!

something to drink.

It’s the same in any natural disaster. As the shock wears off and the days wear on, the biggest demand is for drinking water. Time after time, relief crews hand out free Clorox Bleach with simple instructions: use it to kill bacteria in your water and you’ll have purified water to drink. Here’s how: (Store these directions with your emergency bottle of Clorox Bleach.) 

First let water stand until particles settle. Pour the clear water into an uncontaminated container and add Regular Clorox Bleach per the amounts given below. Mix well. Wait 30 min. Water should have a slight bleach odor. If not, repeat dose.  Wait 15 min. Sniff again. Keep an eyedropper taped to your emergency bottle of Clorox Bleach, since purifying small amounts of water requires only a few drops. See below suggestions for storage bottle replacement.

Don’t pour purified water into contaminated containers. To sanitize water jugs first, follow the instructions below.

Without water and electricity, even everyday tasks are tough. In lieu of steaming hot water, sanitize dishes with a little Clorox Bleach. Just follow the directions below to keep dishes clean.

Whether you use Clorox Bleach in an emergency or for everyday chores, it’s always an environmentally sound choice. After its work is done, Clorox Bleach breaks down to little more than salt and water, which is good news anytime. 

Ratio of Clorox Bleach to Water for Purification

2 drops of Regular Clorox Bleach per quart of water

8 drops of Regular Clorox Bleach per gallon of water

1/2 teaspoon Regular Clorox Bleach per five gallons of water

If water is cloudy, double the recommended dosages of Clorox Bleach.

Only use Regular Clorox Bleach (not Fresh Scent or Lemon Fresh). To insure that Clorox Bleach is at its full strength, replace your storage bottle every three months.) 

Clorox Bleach Sanitizing Solution

Mix 1 tablespoon Regular Clorox Bleach with one gallon of water. Always wash and rinse items first, then let each item soak in Clorox Bleach Sanitizing Solution for 2 minutes. Drain and air dry.

See also, A Practical Guide To Emergency Water Filters.

 

Roquette America To Pay A Heavy Fine for Permit Violations

The large grain producer Roquette America, Inc. will pay $4,100,000 in civil penalties to settle violations of the Clean Water Act and its  National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.  The EPA maintains that Roquette violated the terms of its permit by allowing spills from its wastewater plant at its grain processing plant at Keokuk, Iowa.

As early as 2008, Roquette was aware that its wastewater treatment plant was marginally adequate and that it could not handle spills or surges in loading. Instead of constructing additional containment structures for wastewater surges, or routing spills to the wastewater treatment plant, Roquette allowed the industrial waste to be discharged directly into the Mississippi River and Soap Creek.

According to the EPA, the Keokuk facility violated its  permit at least 1,174 times, and on at least 30 occasions illegally discharged via storm drains resulting in at least 250,000 gallons of industrial waste being released into the Mississippi River and Soap Creek. In addition to these permit violations and illegal discharges, Roquette discharged partially treated industrial waste from its wastewater treatment plant, and discharged steam condensate into Soap Creek through an unpermitted outfall.

In addition to paying the penalty, Roquette will complete other requirements valued at more than $17 million to further protect the Mississippi River and Soap Creek. Among these requirements are the completion of a sewer survey to identify possible discharge locations, the implementation of sewer modifications, the construction of upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant, and the performance of enhanced effluent monitoring.

Full Details from the EPA’s Website.

 

Many of  the Nation’s Poor Are Not Protected by Current Regulatory Standards

The article that we’re reprinting below underlines the plight of many of the nation’s poorest residents who live in communities so small that they fall beneath the regulatory radar of agencies who set and monitor water quality standards for larger communities.  This sad situation  is particularly true in farming communities where decades of overuse of pesticides and fertilizers have now contaminated local wells and surface waters without provisions for cleanup.

 

The Problem Is Clear: The Water Is Filthy

By PATRICIA LEIGH BROWN

Published: November 14, 2012

Reprinted from the New York Times.

 

SEVILLE, Calif. – Like most children, the students at Stone Corral Elementary School here rejoice when the bell rings for recess and delight in christening a classroom pet.

But while growing up in this impoverished agricultural community of numbered roads and lush citrus orchards, young people have learned a harsh life lesson: “No tomes el agua!” – “Don’t drink the water!”

Seville, with a population of about 300, is one of dozens of predominantly Latino unincorporated communities in the Central Valley plagued for decades by contaminated drinking water. It is the grim result of more than half a century in which chemical fertilizers, animal wastes, pesticides and other substances have infiltrated aquifers, seeping into the groundwater and eventually into the tap. An estimated 20 percent of small public water systems in Tulare County are unable to meet safe nitrate levels, according to a United Nations representative.

In farmworker communities like Seville, a place of rusty rural mailboxes and backyard roosters where the average yearly income is $14,000, residents like Rebecca Quintana pay double for water: for the tap water they use to shower and wash clothes, and for the five-gallon bottles they must buy weekly for drinking, cooking and brushing their teeth.

It is a life teeming with worry: about children accidentally sipping contaminated water while cooling off with a garden hose, about not having enough clean water for an elderly parent’s medications, about finding a rock while cleaning the feeding tube of a severely disabled daughter, as Lorie Nieto did. She vowed never to use tap water again.

Chris Kemper, the school’s principal, budgets $100 to $500 a month for bottled water. He recalled his astonishment, upon his arrival four years ago, at encountering the “ghost” drinking fountains, shut off to protect students from “weird foggyish water,” as one sixth grader, Jacob Cabrera, put it. Mr. Kemper said he associated such conditions with third world countries. “I always picture it as a laptop a month for the school,” he said of the added cost of water.

Here in Tulare County, one of the country’s leading dairy producers, where animal waste lagoons penetrate the air and soil, most residents rely on groundwater as the source for drinking water. A study by the University of California, Davis, this year estimated that 254,000 people in the Tulare Basin and Salinas Valley, prime agricultural regions with about 2.6 million residents, were at risk for nitrate contamination of their drinking water. Nitrates have been linked to thyroid disease and make infants susceptible to “blue baby syndrome,” a potentially fatal condition that interferes with the blood’s capacity to carry oxygen.

Communities like Seville, where corroded piping runs through a murky irrigation ditch and into a solitary well, are particularly vulnerable to nitrate contamination, lacking financial resources for backup systems. Fertilizer and other chemicals applied to cropland decades ago will continue to affect groundwater for years, according to the Davis study.

“You can’t smell it,” Mrs. Quintana said of the dangers of the tap. “You can’t see it. It looks like plain beautiful water.”

Situated off the state’s psychic map, lacking political clout and even mayors, places like Seville and Tooleville to the south have long been excluded from regional land use and investment decisions, said Phoebe S. Seaton, the director of a community initiative for California Rural Legal Assistance. Residents rely on county governments and tiny resident-run public utility districts. The result of this jurisdictional patchwork is a fragmented water delivery system and frequently deteriorating infrastructure.

Many such communities started as farm labor camps without infrastructure, said John A. Capitman, a professor at California State University, Fresno, and the executive director of the Central Valley Health Policy Institute. Today, one in five residents in the Central Valley live below the federal poverty line. Many spend up to 10 percent of their income on water. “The laborers and residents of this region have borne a lot of the social costs of food production,” Professor Capitman said.

Bertha Diaz, a farmworker and single mother of four in East Orosi, rises at 4 in the morning to pick grapefruit and other crops. Her chief concern, she said, was how she would afford bottled water.

She comes home to an additional chore – filling five-gallon jugs at the Watermill Express, a self-serve drinking water station in nearby Orosi with a windmill roof. When she began receiving cautionary notices from the local water district, she formed a neighborhood committee and also joined AGUA, the Spanish-language acronym for the Association of People United for Water, a network of residents working with the nonprofit Community Water Center.

Last month, Gov. Jerry Brown signed the Human Right to Water bill, which directs state agencies to make clean water a financing priority. In the past, communities like Seville trying to make improvements got caught in a noose of bureaucratic technicalities that resulted in years of delays.

“Clean water ought to be a right,” said Bill Chiat, a program manager with the California State Association of Counties who educates government officials on water issues. “The question is, how are you going to pay for it?”

The answer is sometimes a twisted tale: In Lanare, in Fresno County, the local community services district received $1.3 million in federal money to construct a treatment plant for arsenic-tainted water. But when the system began operating, the cost of water skyrocketed – a result of lowball estimates by construction engineers, as well as the siphoning of treated water to nearby farms. “Before, it was dirty water,” said Isabel Solorio, a part-time housecleaner. “But at least it wasn’t expensive dirty water.” The plant now sits unused.

But there is a growing recognition by state and local officials that rural communities need regional solutions. One option is consolidation, in which small systems band together to create a larger system with a bigger customer base. Another might be partnering with Alta Irrigation District, which has delivered surface water for agriculture from the Kings River for 130 years. Conserved water in upstream reservoirs could also be a source for Seville and elsewhere. “It would require a new governance structure,” said Chris Kapheim, the irrigation district’s general manager. “But it would give these areas a long-term fix.”

The state is allocating $4 million for interim solutions like filters under sinks that can remove arsenic and nitrates.

Even temporary solutions cannot come quickly enough for residents like Eunice Martinez, 47, who lives in Tooleville, where water has been contaminated with arsenic and bacteria.

Mobile homes rented by farmworkers sit temptingly near the Friant-Kern Canal, a 152-mile aqueduct that supplies water for one million acres of farmland.

Long before they knew there was a health problem, Ms. Martinez and her 72-year-old mother, Margaret, had stopped drinking the water. “Honestly, it was the taste,” she said. “It just wasn’t right.”

Ms. Martinez sometimes visits family in a nearby town where the water is clean and clear, just to freshen up. “I turn on the tap and it’s, ‘Wow, I’m amazed,’ ” she said. “It’s something so simple in life. And it’s gone.”

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Sewage Overflows Are Widespread and Likely to Continue for Some Time in the Areas Affected by Sandy

Sewage treatment plants in areas affected by Superstorm Sandy continue to release untreated or partially treated sewage, and in many places the flow is expected to continue into waterways at least through November.

The combination of untreated sewage in the water and prolonged power outages has the attention of local and state officials and environmentalists because of the potential health consequences.

Reports of sewage discharges are numerous across the affected areas.  We’re reprinting here a comprehensive report from Long Island Newsday, originally published November 11, 2012.  This excellent article gives an idea of the scope and seriousness of the problem.

 

Millions of gallons of partially treated sewage flowing into waterway

Originally published: November 11, 2012 6:45 PM
Updated: November 11, 2012 8:15 PM
By EMILY C. DOOLEY  emily.dooley@newsday.com

Sixty-five million gallons of partially treated sewage from a plant that serves almost 40 percent of Nassau‘s residents are flushing each day into a waterway north of Long Beach — the result of damage from superstorm Sandy that could have far-reaching environmental implications.
Initial estimates from Nassau County said the sewage flow from the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant into Reynolds Channel could go on through about Nov. 30 as workers try to fix the plant. Now, Department of Public Works spokesman Michael Martino says it is “undetermined” when the East Rockaway plant can resume fully treating sewage.

The treatment pumps failed when the plant was flooded by a 9-foot wall of water pushed ashore by Sandy.

The daily volume amounts to 1.95 billion gallons of sewer water a month that has been cleared of solids and chlorinated — but not fully treated — pouring into the channel, which flows into Rockaway Inlet and the Atlantic Ocean.

It’s enough material to fill about 2,954 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
It could be six to 12 months before the facility is fully repaired, according to a statement from the office of Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano.

County officials confirmed the sewage flow amounts but declined to comment about the extent of its potential impact.

More than sewage

And Sandy didn’t just cause sewage problems. Churned-up debris, gasoline, home heating oil and hazardous materials also poured into roads and waterways.
Legis. Dave Denenberg (D-Merrick) said, “this is an environmental disaster.”
At the moment, however, the sewage issue is being eclipsed by efforts to recover from the devastation of Sandy and the nor’easter that followed.

“It’s a big problem, Reynolds Channel, but right now we’ve got more pressing, more emergent situations,” said Legis. Howard J. Kopel (R-Lawrence), whose district includes Bay Park and Island Park. “The damage that is being done to the channel is undeniable. We’ll have to deal with it.”

Still, the combination of untreated sewage in the water and prolonged power outages has the attention of local and state officials and environmentalists because of the potential health consequences.

“We are getting reports from all over the Island that oil, gas and sewage are entering the waters,” said Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the nonprofit advocacy group Citizens Campaign for the Environment. “This will be another serious impact to Long Island from Sandy.”

The state Department of Health is working with health care providers to track illnesses that may be Sandy-related, such as diarrhea, carbon monoxide poisoning and respiratory issues, said Peter Constantakes, the agency spokesman. No major outbreaks have been reported.

Nitrogen from septic tanks getting into waterways could also produce more harmful algal blooms like the kinds that shut shellfishing beds last summer, said Chris Clapp, a marine scientist with The Nature Conservancy of Long Island.
“If anything, this catastrophe has really shed a bright light on . . . the need for more modernized and updated ways of treating our wastewater materials,” Clapp said.

Forced to release raw waste
Bay Park stopped operating at 10 p.m. Oct. 29 when the facility flooded during the storm.

Ruptures in system pipes also sent sewage into streets and homes in Baldwin, East Rockaway and elsewhere, clogging homes with a mix of sewage and floodwater, making them unfit for habitation.

A relief system that drains the sewage but doesn’t treat it went online at 3 p.m. Oct. 31, two days after Sandy and operated for 48 hours, sending 34 million gallons of raw waste water into Reynolds Channel, Macy Channel, Mill River and Parsonage Creek, Martino said.

On Nov. 1, the plant began partially treating sewage again and is processing 65 million gallons of water daily.

“It’s absolutely a bad solution, but it’s the only solution right now,” Kopel said.
The only other option, he said, would be to have the sewage back up into homes and streets.

What’s being pushed into Reynolds Channel doesn’t leave immediately, said R. Lawrence Swanson, director of the Waste Reduction and Management Institute at Stony Brook’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. Swanson, who studies Bay Park, said it takes about 200 hours for fully treated sewage to dissipate into the ocean.
Long Beach — inundated with seawater and deep sand, and left without functioning power, sewer or water systems — borders the channel. “That whole area becomes more vulnerable and more susceptible to public health threats,” Esposito said. The water and sewer systems are operating, but on a limited basis.

Statewide, 12 wastewater treatment plants reported flooding and 10 released partially treated or untreated sewage because of Sandy. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in a statement said that because of the storm “there is no accurate way to determine the amount of partially treated or untreated flows entering waterways.”

Built in 1949 and last refurbished in 1996, the Bay Park plant has been plagued by years of neglect and inadequate funding.

In June 2011, the county and state Department of Environmental Conservation settled a lawsuit after the agency said Nassau failed to maintain equipment and report illegal discharges. Nassau agreed to pay a $500,000 fine and spend another $500,000 to study the feasibility of building a pipe to transport treated wastewater to the ocean.
Since taking office in 2010, Mangano has committed more than $70 million toward updating the plant.

“It got better,” Kopel said. “It was getting a lot better. It is heartbreaking that it was brought to a crushing halt by this catastrophe.”

The environmental implications of Sandy stem from, among other things, the enormous storm surge that swept up so much debris. Cars picked up by the surge leaked oil and gas; heating tanks ruptured and spilled into basements or were carried outside, septic systems were compromised and household items drifted into streets.

Unknown amount released

The exact amount of sewage released around Long Island is not known, nor is a figure available for gas, oil and other debris swept away. But the amount of spills — from hazardous waste to petroleum — reported to the DEC from Nassau and Suffolk counties is more than three times what was reported during 2011’s Tropical Storm Irene. The cases account for 51 percent of Sandy spill reports in New York, according to a DEC spill database.

From Oct. 29 to Nov. 4, Nassau and Suffolk homes and businesses reported 862 spills. For the same length of time during Irene, 229 spills were reported.
Petroleum spills of more than 5 gallons that are not cleaned up within two hours must be reported to the state. The rules for reporting hazardous waste vary based on circumstance, according to the DEC. The Sandy spill reports came from sewage treatment plants, yacht clubs, marinas, homes, transformers, pump stations, hospitals and manholes from Island Park to Quogue.

DEC spokeswoman Lisa King said the spill calls are coming in daily and the agency is prioritizing cleanup response.

 

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