News Briefs: ​Clogged Sewer Pipe Forces Wastewater Into 300 New York City Homes

Also in this week's sewer and water news, watch a video as treatment plant workers team up with a local fire department and a wildlife rescue organization to save a bald eagle stuck in a settling pond

Liquid waste backed up into about 300 homes in a Queens neighborhood in New York City thanks to a clogged sewer pipe.

Residents report waking up in the early morning hours to the overwhelming smell of sewage as wastewater backed up into their homes.

Water officials assured residents the drinking water system was unaffected, but asked that they reduce consumption to alleviate the burden on the clogged sewer pipe as crews worked to fix the problem.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told citizens the city was using emergency procurement to hire crews to clean up the mess.

Waste Facility Pays Fine After Dumping Bleach Into City Sewer

A new waste management facility in Hampden, Maine, acknowledged that it accidentally dumped 6,500 gallons of bleach into the city’s sewer system, and will now pay a $4,390 fine issued by the Bangor Wastewater Treatment Department.

The spill, which occurred this summer, killed off some of the treatment plant’s microorganisms. More recently, the waste management facility — Coastal Resources of Maine — says it replaced the faulty valve which caused the spill.

Wildlife Rehab Team Rescues Bald Eagle From WWTP Settling Pond

A wildlife rehabilitation group based out of Delta, British Columbia, recently rescued a bald eagle that had landed in a wastewater treatment plant settling pond.

The bird couldn’t get airborne again because its wings became coated in the floating sludge. Due to the fact that nets couldn’t reach it, a boat couldn’t be used due to safety concerns, and the pond is in restricted airspace, the rescue operation was more complicated than the Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society is used to dealing with.

“OWL staff and volunteers brainstormed and came up with attempting the rescue with a volunteers 32 foot volleyball net and 600 feet of marine rope,” the society wrote on Facebook. “When staff and volunteers arrived at the location they received help from Iona Wastewater Treatment plant workers and the use of their front end-loader to hold one end of the rope high to drag the volleyball net toward the bird. Realizing we needed more equipment we called the Richmond Fire Department told them about our predicament and they graciously offered to help.”

See a video of the rescue below:



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