News Briefs: Lift Station Employee Charged With Theft

In this week's news, a municipal worker is accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of city equipment, a massive stormwater project was completed in Ohio, and a California city taps public pool water to clean sewers.
News Briefs: Lift Station Employee Charged With Theft

Interested in Infrastructure?

Get Infrastructure articles, news and videos right in your inbox! Sign up now.

Infrastructure + Get Alerts

A former Hobart, Indiana, lift station laborer is accused of stealing over $3,000 worth of equipment from the city — a pressure washer, air compressor and water pump.

Jacob Chabes, 22, of Hobart, was charged with two counts of theft, both of which are level 6 felonies. He worked for the city from May 2013 until September of this year.

According to the report, city officials noticed the three pieces of equipment were missing from a Hobart lift station on Sept. 4. After a search of the local pawn shops, it was discovered that Chabes sold the three items to an EZ-Pawn shop in Hobart, earning $175 for the three pieces of equipment.

Source: The Times of Northwest Indiana

Tunneling Complete on Columbus Sewer Project
Stormwater runoff will be less of an issue for Columbus, Ohio, now that the 4.5-mile-long tunnel beneath downtown of the city has been completed.

Instead of ending up in ditches and streams, stormwater will be funneled from a near-surface sewer into the new tunnel, which is nearly 200 feet below the surface with a diameter of 20 feet. The water will travel to a wastewater treatment plant before safely filtering back into the Scioto River.

The $371 million tunnel and two odor-control facilities near downtown is the largest capital project in the history of the City of Columbus, and will be fully operational in 2017.

Source: WCMH-TV

Pool Water Tapped for Reuse Around Burbank
In the midst of the ongoing drought, a California city has come up with an innovative way to recycle water and keep its sewer system clean, the Burbank Leader reports.

Last year the Public Works Department of Burbank reused public pool dechlorinated water to water park lawns and trees, clean city sewers and to control dust at the city’s landfill.

And the practice will continue this year. Last week crews drained tens of thousands of gallons of water from the pool, giving enough time for the chlorine to naturally break down in the water before being reused.

Public Works Director Bonnie Teaford said this year there is approximately 70,000 gallons of repurposed water that will be used mainly for sewer cleaning and parkway watering.

“Water is a precious resource, drought or no drought,” Teaford says.

Source: Burbank Leader

$1.9B in Financing Available for New Jersey Utilities
Gov. Chris Christie signed legislation Aug. 25 to provide $1.9 billion in state financing to utilities to protect drinking water and wastewater infrastructure from storms.

Low-interest loans and no-interest financing for 280 projects in New Jersey is available through the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust. One utility devastated by Super Storm Sandy, the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission, is eligible to receive $75 million.

Other projects near the coast that will benefit from the state financing include restoration of pump stations and facilities, a seal wall for an Atlantic City treatment plant, and wet weather pumping stations.

“Projects such as these are critical to ensuring these vital public services remain in operation in times of natural disasters, and that our environment is protected,” says DEP Commission Robert Martin. “Sandy dealt a devastating blow to our drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, much of which is located along rivers and coastal areas that are vulnerable to severe flooding.”

Source: northjersey.com



Discussion

Comments on this site are submitted by users and are not endorsed by nor do they reflect the views or opinions of COLE Publishing, Inc. Comments are moderated before being posted.