September 27, 2005
INDIANAPOLIS STINKS, PART II
The Indianapolis Star is finally reporting what those of us who live and breath in the Circle City have suspected for years... mainly, that our wastewater treatment plants are increasingly becoming overwhelmed, allowing billions of gallons (yes, I said allowing BILLIONS of gallons) of "bypass sewage" to openly flow into nearby waterways. In short, untreated sewage has been flowing in open locations all across our fair city for years, and it poses a significant threat to just about everything. From this morning's article in the Star:
State law requires cities and towns to notify residents of overflows from combined sewers--when pipes that transport both raw sewage and storm water spill into waterways--but there is no such requirement for overflows from sewers designed to carry only sanitary waste. Until now, the public usually didn't know about those spills. ....The combined sewers in Indianapolis overflow more than 60 times a year and dump about 6 billion gallons of untreated wastewater into waterways in older parts of the city.
According to the Indy Star, the State of Indiana's Department of Environmental Management is now posting records of sewage overflows on its web site, and will continue to do so every Friday for the foreseeable future. Click Here to see for yourself.
The city's Administrator of Environmental Engineering, Carlton Ray, is quoted in the article as saying that the city is "moving as quickly as it can to fix problems and has begun investigating sources of water infiltration." The Star also reports that a program is being developed to educate Indianapolis' residents about disconnecting sump pumps and downspouts from sewers.
I hope that the Indianapolis Star and concerned citizens like myself will keep the pressure on the City of Indianapolis to fix the problem with our sewers. Of my first post on this subject, the Indy Star's own RiShawn Biddle recently mused on the Star's editorial blog:
Mikal Belicove has some interesting thoughts on the state fair at his eponymous site. He also notices the odors that plague the city:
[quoting from my 8/1/05 post on this subject, Biddle goes on to quote me as saying] "...someone needs to do something about the smell of raw sewage that permeates our air. It's particularly strong on hot and humid days (but not exclusively), and can be found by rolling a window down while driving along Fall Creek Parkway (between Meridian and 38th Street), as well as up around Broad Ripple Park (near Evanston Avenue and 65th), and downtown between Pennsylvania and Meridian on Washington and Maryland streets."
He wonders if he's the only one to notice. Not a chance. I feel like grabbing a gas mask every time I commute along 96th street, home to malodorous operations as Carmel's waste treatment plant and the various aggregates operations.
If you too are sick (perhaps literally) and tired of the smelliness in Indianapolis, consider contacting your locally elected official (click here for an easy way of determining who exactly represents your part of Indianapolis on the City-County Council). It's not enough for the City and State to post overflow information on some web site. Something has to be done to actually fix the problem, now!
Posted by Mikal at September 27, 2005 8:18 AM
| TrackBack
Umm... ewwww?
I know that most cities have a nice raw sewage smell on hot days, but Indy always struck me as a bit much. Even when I was last there, on a cool Febuary day, there was a "hang" in the air.
Hopefully you'll be able to clean it up, especially with the low water table. Never underestimate the power of a few hundred enraged bloggers. :)
Not really,it is a very clean city downtown,
and very pretty if you ask me,alot of masonry,
better than Detriot.
I went there,its not new york but it doesent stink that much,
I like the rathkellar,or rotfellar,or however that german restruants name is spelled!
