[T]here have been almost as many sewage discharges reported across the state in the past 35 days as there were in all of the previous year, according to state data.
There have been 25 sewage discharges reported in Vermont since May 11, compared to the 31 reported between May 10, 2014, and May 10, 2015, according to the Vermont Wastewater Inventory of sewage overflows.
There are two types of situations where sewage is discharged or leaked: a spill and an overflow. A sewage spill is an accident, whereas an overflow isn’t an accident — it’s beyond the capacity of the system, said Laurie Adams, assistant director of the Burlington Department of Public Works.
One recent sewage spill in Hinesburg was caused by a blockage in the sewer line and resulted in approximately 1,000 to 10,000 gallons of sewage overflow going into Patrick Brook, according to the incident report.
James Ehlers, executive director of Lake Champlain International, said that one large spill or overflow is fundamentally equal to that of small spills or overflows over a period of time. Ehlers said that he looks at it cumulatively rather than by frequency. LCI is a nonprofit organization advocating for the future of Lake Champlain’s water and fisheries.
The two largest sewage overflows since May 11 happened in Vergennes, where 237,280 gallons were spilled May 30 and 189,600 gallons were spilled June 9, according to the respective incident reports. Both of these went into Otter Creek, a tributary that empties into Lake Champlain, Ehlers said.
Ehlers said that the MacDonough Drive pump station, the place where these two Vergennes sewage overflows happened, has had a chronic problem. Rick Chaput, chief operator of the Vergennes Wastewater Treatment plant, was unavailable for comment.
Vergennes has a direct discharge permit authorizing sewage overflow discharges during heavy rainfall, according to the June 9 incident report.
David Mears, commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, said the communities that are given direct discharge permits are those that still have a combined sewer system, where the stormwater flows into the sewage system, Mears said. These systems cannot handle a heavy overflow as it could cause physical problems such as the wastewater treatment plant overflows or bursting pipes, he said.
While those communities work to update their systems, they are allowed to discharge some untreated or partially treated sewage mixed with stormwater, as long as rainfall is at a certain level, he said.
“They can’t just discharge every time it rains,” Mears said.
Any discharge of partially treated or raw sewage is a concern, he said.
“It presents health risks that are unacceptable, and we have been and will continue to work with those communities that experience these kinds of failures to identify ways to reduce and ultimately eliminate them as quick as possible,” Mears said.
The cause of the recent increase in sewage spills is the recent number of “pretty intense” rainfall events, Mears said. Some of the incidents have had to do with blockages or pump failures, such as the June 14 incident in Hinesburg, but they’re typically tied to heavy rainfalls and excessive stormwater, he said.
Burlington has a combined sewer overflow point located at the corner of Manhattan Drive and Park Street where it is authorized to discharge raw sewage combined with stormwater in the case of high rainfall, Adams said. The city had to discharge 126 gallons at this combined sewer overflow point June 12, according to the inventory list.
“It doesn’t mean we like it, but given the intensity of these events — what we’re seeing now are these intense downbursts — and the pipe system can’t take the combination of the stormwater and the sewage that is contained in the pipes,” Adams said.
Burlington has had six overflows and/or spills in the past 35 days and all but two were under 150 gallons.
The city has an electronic monitoring system in its pipes, which alerts city workers about the exact moment an overflow or spill starts and stops, Adams said.
“We might be one of the most sophisticated in terms of monitoring,” Adams said.
All of these incidents of sewage discharge, whether an overflow or a spill, could be prevented by investments in infrastructure, Ehlers said.
“How many of these facilities actually clean their lines on an annual basis to prevent buildup versus how many wait until there is a system failure?” Ehlers said. “It is not the rain that causes pollution; it is people and our poor habits and our cheap ways.”
