Top Stories

California: Raw sewage backed up into both clubhouse shower areas, the umpires’ room and all bathrooms on the clubhouse level, as well as both managers’ offices and the Mariners’ training room. The Angels filed a complaint about unsanitary conditions several years ago over the same problem, voicing concerns about E. coli in the training room.

Failing Infrastructure

Iowa: Shortly before 8 a.m. Wednesday, a resident of the city of Orleans reported an overflowing manhole in the 13700 block of Sunset Drive, on the southeast side of Big Spirit Lake. The Iowa Great Lakes Sanitary District inspected the area and found that about 21,000 gallons of untreated wastewater had flowed into the lake.

Kentucky: The United States needs more than $384 billion in upgrades to its drinking water systems over the next 20 years, according to a study by the Environmental Protection Agency. The greatest need is replacing aging distribution infrastructure, which local officials say is the case in eastern Kentucky.

Minnesota: The Minneapolis sewer system is reaching senior citizen status with the average pipe age between 80 and 100 years old. A third of sewer systems around Minnesota are more than 50-years-old, and reaching a breaking point, according to MN2020, a St. Paul based think tank.

Texas: A 78-year-old woman is trying to salvage whatever she can after a 10-inch water main break damaged and flooded her Fort Worth home. The break eroded the road above the pipe and sent a water cannon shooting more than 40 feet across the street, right into Ann Patrick’s home.

Wisconsin: A water main break was reported at 12:30 p.m. Thursday at the corner of Arndt and Hickory streets in Fond du Lac. While the break caused some backup in the road, no residents were left without water, said City of Fond du Lac Water Operations Manager Kathryn Scharf.

South Dakota: Chamberlain High School flooded following a water main break Monday evening on the north side of the building. As of Tuesday morning, officials were unsure of the estimated cost of damage to the school and were working on a plan to get the facility functioning before the first day of school Wednesday, August 21.

California: A water main that broke twice in the last 24 hours has left roughly 200 people without water, officials said Friday. At some point during crews’ attempt to fix the water main, sewage spilled into the line, dirtying the water, Hardy said. The contamination means that repairs will take longer, and crews will have to test the water before turning service back on.

Texas: SAWS spokeswoman Anne Hayden says Broadway will be closed at Grayson Street until at least 3 p.m. as crews work to repair a broken gas line and water main. SAWS crews have been working to stop the leak ever since the 24-inch main sprang a leak around 1:30 a.m.

Virginia: Sarah Bumgardner, the Western VA Water Authority spokesperson, says that the break was caused by vintage-era water pipes from the 1950s breaking down. She said traffic cones were being removed Saturday evening.