CSO Watch
2008 CSO Alerts
- January: 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 16, 17, 18, 22, 24, 27, 28, 29.
- February: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 , 9, 13, 14, 15, 17, 20, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29.
- March: 1, 3, 4.
CSO stands for combined sewer overflow. When storm and sanitary sewers are combined, precipitation can overcome the system and flush untreated storm run-off and raw sewage into the St. Joseph River.
The Greens are watching and recording official CSO alerts so our readers will know when to avoid contact with river water. As far as we know, none of the media outlets in Michiana report CSO alerts.
Also, citizens need to know what progress the city of South Bend is making separating storm and sanitary sewers. Until the two sewer systems are separate, the city will continue to dump raw sewage into the St. Joseph River.
From the City of South Bend's official CSO alert:
"When it rains or when there is a snowmelt, the sewers in the some parts of South Bend can overflow - sending untreated rainwater and sewage into our streams...After a rainstorm or snowmelt, you should avoid contact with streams in the combined sewer area for at least 72 hours. Signs are posted along our waterways to identify wet weather overflow outfalls and areas where contact with the water could be hazardous."
"The St. Joseph River is a fast moving and therefore dangerous waterway. Care should be used at all times when approaching it and efforts should be made to reinforce these ideas with our children."
Background Information
- South Bend City engineers' presentation on CSOs
- IKE's Sewage in our Streams newsletter
The city of South Bend never reported CSOs to the public until the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) required it for public awareness and safety. As far as we know, the City still doesn't report dry weather CSOs as alerts.
The city issued 159 CSO alerts in 2007, 148 in 2006 and 144 alerts in 2005. There were 87 CSO alerts in the last 180 days of 2004. Further, since dry weather CSOs are not reported as alerts, the odds are good the City dumps some amount of raw sewage into the St. Joseph River 50% of the time.
Cities in Indiana release sewage into rivers and streams during dry weather. See the section titled: "SEWER CONNECTIONS - 8 DAYS A YEAR OF DRY WEATHER COMBINED SEWER OVERFLOWS OK BY IDEM."
There is an excellent documentary regarding storm run-off, After the Storm, coproduced by the EPA and the Weatherchannel. You can order free copies of the video from the EPA.
CSO statistics for 2007
The "# of Alerts" column represents the number of days in each month the city issued wet weather CSO alerts. The "Percent" column is the number of alerts divided by the number of days in that month.
| Month | # of Alerts | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21 | 68 |
| Feb | 8 | 29 |
| Mar | 18 | 58 |
| Apr | 14 | 47 |
| May | 4 | 13 |
| Jun | 11 | 37 |
| Jul | 9 | 29 |
| Aug | 15 | 48 |
| Sep | 8 | 27 |
| Oct | 16 | 52 |
| Nov | 17 | 57 |
| Dec | 18 | 58 |
| Total | 159 | 44 |
The National Weather Services says precipitation typically occurs in St. Joseph County 148 days of the year. Precipitation is spread evenly throughout the year. For the past 5 years or more, St. Joseph County has received less than normal precipitation -- less rain, less frequently. Imagine what the CSO picture would be if we had received normal precipitation!
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/iwx/climate/sbn/climatedescription.shtml
St. Joe Valley Greens, South Bend, IN