12 Feb 2013

Governor Quinn Announces Clean Water Project to Create 2,000 Jobs and Protect Environment

By Erin Wilson

Illinois Clean Water Initiative Will Invest $250 Million to Update Wastewater Treatment, Reduce Flooding and Clean Up Chicago Area Waterways

CHICAGO - February 11, 2013. Governor Pat Quinn today awarded a $250 million low-interest loan to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) to move forward with crucial projects to update the region's water infrastructure, clean up area rivers and improve public health. Financed through the governor's Illinois Clean Water Initiative (ICWI), the projects will create 2,000 construction-related jobs and support an additional 8,000 jobs in local communities.

In October 2012, Governor Quinn launched the $1 billion Clean Water Initiative to help local governments overhaul aging drinking water and wastewater treatment plants and pipelines. The Illinois Clean Water Initiative, which does not use any new state tax dollars, will create an estimated 28,500 jobs across Illinois.

"Today we are taking a big step forward to clean up Chicago area waterways and create thousands of good jobs," Governor Quinn said. "We are committed to making Illinois a national leader in clean water, which will lay the foundation for a stronger economy for generations to come."

Governor Quinn was joined for today's announcement at the MWRD's Calumet pumping station by MWRD Board President Kathleen Therese Meany, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) Director John Kim, Illinois Finance Authority (IFA) Executive Director Chris Meister, and local labor leaders.

Among the first projects to be financed through the ICWI is a major upgrade to an MWRD pumping station that is part of the multi-billion dollar Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP). The ICWI will finance disinfection equipment to treat out-flowing water at the MWRD's Calumet facility and O'Brien Water Reclamation Plant in Skokie. The ICWI will provide financing for other projects to prevent flooding and reduce pollution using sustainable management technology to capture phosphorus and nitrogen.

"The nutrient removal projects are aimed at resource recovery with a return on investment for our taxpayers," MWRD Board President Kathleen Therese Meany said. "These processes are on the cutting edge of treatment technology and will transform the wastewater industry into a resource recovery enterprise."

The Calumet MWRD facility was constructed in 1985 as part of TARP to pump combined sewer overflows captured in the deep tunnel system into a main for transfer and treatment. About $35 million in low-interest ICWI financing will be used to reconstruct two pump rooms, each with a capacity of 150 million gallons per day, using state-of-the-art pumping equipment to divert storm water and combined sewer overflows for treatment rather than allow it to go directly into waterways.

"Illinois EPA has had a long working relationship with the MWRD, including previously administering $465 million in low-interest loans for TARP," IEPA Director John Kim said. "Governor Quinn's Clean Water Initiative will accelerate these continued MWRD improvements that will result in great returns for the environment and economy of Northeast Illinois."

"We're putting thousands of unionized building trades workers back to work, cutting the cost to local governments of financing clean water projects and ensuring safe drinking water for consumers, IFA Executive Director Chris Meister said. "It's win-win-win."

MWRD projects will put to work thousands of tradesmen, including Carpenters, Cement Masons, Electricians, Iron Workers, Laborers, Machinists, Material Testers, plumbers, Pipefitters, Operating Engineers, Painters and Truck Drivers.

"The jobs created by the Clean Water Initiative are good-paying jobs, since a prevailing wage requirement is part of each project," James F. Coyne, business manager of Plumbers Local 130 said. "For our region to thrive we need a modern, well-built water infrastructure, and this partnership will help MWRD achieve that."

The MWRD operates one of the world's largest wastewater collection and treatment systems, handling sewage for more than 5.25 million residents, thousands of businesses and industries in Chicago and 125 suburban communities spread across 883 square miles. The MWRD has 554 miles of intercepting sewers and force mains and more than 10,000 local sewer system connections, as well as seven treatment plants and 23 pumping stations able to treat more than two billion gallons per day.

Governor Quinn proposed the ICWI in his 2012 State of the State Address, and directed the IEPA and IFA to expand the State Revolving Fund from $300 million to $1 billion annually. The Initiative is funded with annual federal grants, funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and additional principal and interest from loan repayments. No new state tax dollars are used. Needed equity is provided by the existing loan portfolio and future federal capitalization dollars.

Governor Quinn has already awarded $4.8 million to Pekin, Illinois to upgrade its wastewater treatment facility and $15 million to Chicago to replace seven miles of drinking water pipes, some of which are a century old. Since 1989, IEPA has lent $4.3 billion to 472 communities; there has never been a single defaulted loan during the program's history.

Future MWRD projects that will be financed with CWI low-interest loans include :

? $117 million for disinfection facilities at the Calumet and O'Brien Water Reclamation Plants to meet proposed fecal coliform standards. Chlorination will be used at the Calumet plant to kill bacteria before wastewater is released into the Little Calumet River. Ultraviolet lamps will be used for disinfection at the O'Brien plant to kill bacteria before wastewater is released into the North Shore Channel just north of the Chicago River. The deal will allow the O'Brien project to proceed a year sooner than anticipated.

? $30 million for a Wet Weather Treatment Facility at the Lemont Water Reclamation Plant to better manage storm water.

? $18 million for replacement of the O'Brien Sludge Pipeline, an 18-mile pipe which carries sludge from the O'Brien facility in Skokie to the Stickney facility for treatment and disposal. Built in the 1960s, it has developed a number of breaks resulting in sludge leakage. This project will replace pipeline in Skokie, Lincolnwood and Chicago, with construction expected this summer.

? $15 million for a phosphorus recovery system at the Stickney Water Reclamation plant, with the loan allowing MWRD to push ahead with this sustainable resource management project a year ahead of schedule. It will recover phosphorus that would otherwise be discharged into waterways and convert it into a form that can be sold to the fertilizer industry, offsetting treatment costs and avoiding the environmental impact of rock mining this product.

? $10.6 million for rehabilitation of the 95-year old Des Plaines River Interceptor Sewer 1 that serves the Villages of Westchester, Broadview, Bellwood, Berkeley, Hillside, Maywood, Melrose Park, River Forest and Forest Park. The aging sewer has cracks and infiltration that will be sealed with a new sewer liner.

? $10 million for a state-of-the-art advanced biological process at the Egan Wastewater Reclamation Plant in Schaumburg to remove nitrogen from pollutants while cutting energy usage by 40 percent to treat this flow.

? $9.1 million to rehabilitate mechanical and electrical components of the TARP tunnel systems to improve safety, prevent flooding and maintain functionality for another 30 years.

? $5.6 million to reduce nuisance odors from the corroded Upper Des Plaines Intercepting Sewer. Construction is expected in June.

To learn more about the Illinois Clean Water Initiative, visit CleanWater.Illinois.gov.

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08 Feb 2013

Kids and Parents Make a Difference for the Environment

By Rick Martin

Illinois American Water & Iowa American Water Create Real Value for Families

Minneapolis, MN (January 28, 2013) - Elementary school students will enjoy interactive theatrical performances by The National Theatre for Children (NTC) to teach kids and their parents how to be more aware of their water usage. Sponsored by Illinois American Water and Iowa American Water, the tour will run from January 28 to February 28, 2013, and play to 50 elementary schools throughout Illinois and Iowa.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQxcapS_0Ow

The Search for Mountain Fountain is a water awareness program featuring live, professional theatre performances for students, teachers and families.  During these dynamic theatrical events, they learn:

 

·         The importance of water

·         The uses of water

·         How water gets polluted

·         How we can save and conserve water

 

Powerful Teaching Tool

"The world's changing at ninety miles per hour, but we maintain that live theater is still and always will be a powerful teaching tool," affirms Ward Eames, president of NTC, an organization that has been bringing environmental and social programs to U.S. schools for over 35 years.  "These fun, funny and educational theatre performances impact the students emotionally even as they teach important intellectual concepts."

The Search for Mountain Fountain features two professional actors who play a variety of characters like

Fran Stormer, Ranger Ted and the prospector Leonard Sandstone. The performance is action packed with high energy comedy and audience interaction that teaches students all about water.  Students cheer on and learn from the characters as they search for the mysterious Mountain Fountain. The show comes complete with professionally designed sets, props and costumes.

 

About American Water

American Water, through its subsidiaries, provides high-quality water and wastewater services to approximately 15 million people in more than 30 states, as well as parts of Canada. Headquartered in Voorhees, NJ, we are the largest publicly traded water and wastewater utility company in the United States, and are the parent company to our state subsidiaries. We employ more than 7,000 people who give back to the community each day by doing their part to provide the highest quality service possible. Our professionals are committed to customer service, operational excellence and the delivery of high-quality, reliable drinking water, safe and effective wastewater treatment and release and other water-related management services. Our teams live and work in the communities they serve, visit www.amwater.com

 

About The National Theatre for Children

NTC is the largest touring educational theatre company in the world. Since 1978, NTC has successfully tackled one important issue after another including: financial literacy, electrical safety, water conservation, health care, smoking prevention, recycling, wise energy use, renewable energy, nutrition, and bullying prevention (to name a few). Our educational outreach programs are entirely underwritten by corporate, non-profit and governmental sponsors who want to be associated with delivering healthy-living messages to students and their families. NTC performs approximately 7,000 times a year throughout the country, actively engaging 2.8 million students and parents through its programming. www.nationaltheatre.com

08 Feb 2013

Senators Harkin, Blunt Launch Bipartisan Senate Mississippi River Caucus

By Sen. Tom Harkin

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Tom Harkin (Iowa) and Roy Blunt (Mo.) announced the launch of the bipartisan Mississippi River Caucus today, an initiative to focus and collaborate congressional efforts on important river management goals such as flood mitigation, commerce along the Mississippi River, and to generally assist river communities with concerns.

"We learned a vital lesson this past fall when a potential disruption in navigation along the Mississippi threatened everything from increasing the cost to move goods to potential job losses.  The river and its communities play an important role in commerce and the local economy," said Harkin.  "The Mississippi River Caucus will look at ways that the Congress can be helpful to the cities and towns along the River to improve their economies and their quality of life, and to better respond to floods and other threats.  I am pleased to work with Senator Blunt in this effort and I look forward to the work ahead."

"The Mississippi River is a vital artery of commerce for hundreds of millions of tons of agriculture goods and other products that are important to our national economy," said Blunt. "We must work to maintain the river channel, which has a critical impact on jobs, income to many businesses and farmers, and the economy of the region as a whole. This bipartisan caucus will provide a platform to bring  together those states along the Mississippi River so that we can encourage navigation, promote commerce, and prevent destructive floods."

The 2012 droughts leading to dangerously low-water levels on the Mississippi River showed the need for states along the river to work together. The Mississippi River Caucus will provide an open forum for the various issues that affect the entire reach of the Mississippi River, like aging infrastructure.

In November 2012, Harkin and Blunt worked to bring together a bipartisan group of Senators to urge the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to immediately address water levels and ask President Obama to issue an emergency directive to support response efforts.

The Mississippi River has the third largest drainage basin in the world, and stretches approximately 2,350 miles from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. It is a thriving economic thoroughfare in the United States with hundreds of billions of tons of cargo being transported up and down the river each year, including grain and other agriculture products, coal, iron, steel, and petroleum products.

 

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01 Feb 2013

Coast Guard continues response to crude oil spill near Vicksburg

By Johnathan M Lally

VICKSBURG, Miss. – The unified command continues to respond to a crude oil spill in the lower Mississippi River near mile marker 436 in Vicksburg, Miss., Thursday.

At 10:05 a.m. today response crews removed fuel from the damaged barge MOC-12 after reconfiguring oil-pump equipment.  Following completion of the oil removal operations the damaged barge will be inspected and prepared for transit to a maritime facility in nearby Vicksburg.  The MOC-15 barge has been moved upriver from the MOC-12 oil removal operation and is waiting for transportation to a maritime facility.

Response crews have deployed 5,300 feet of boom to contain any potential oil releases. Skimming vessels have recovered approximately 8,400 gallons of oil-water mixture since the incident occurred. The tank levels are being continually monitored.

The unified command is working with the Coast Guard's Marine Transportation System Recovery Unit to coordinate vessels moving northbound at night and southbound during the day. A safety zone is in effect between mile marker 425 and mile marker 441 restricting travel to commercial vessels.  The Coast Guard is working with the Lower Mississippi River Committee to coordinate vessel movements through the safety zone.

In total, 62 vessels and 974 barges have been cleared to go northbound and southbound since the restrictions have been put into place.

There are 29 northbound vessels with 439 barges and 19 southbound vessels with 315 barges waiting in the queue due to traffic restrictions. Mississippi River vessel traffic queue management is ongoing.

The unified command consists of representatives from the Coast Guard, state on-scene coordinators from Mississippi and Louisiana and the owner of the towing vessel, Nature's Way Marine LLC. Personnel from Coast Guard Sector Lower Mississippi River, Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Vicksburg and the Coast Guard's National Strike Force are on scene as part of a unified command effort to oversee cleanup and salvage operations.

The Coast Guard investigation into the incident is ongoing.

For further information or media inquiries contact the Information Center in Vicksburg at (601) 801-3521.

Saving Lives and Guarding the Coast Since 1790.
The United States Coast Guard -- Proud History. Powerful Future.

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25 Jan 2013

Your Competitive Advantage May Surprise You! By: Marsha Friedman What's your best advice for women in business? It's a question I hear frequently as more and more women strike out on their own, whether it's to start their own company, write a book, turn

By Rick Martin
A free webinar, Growing Healthy Shade Trees with IPM, especially designed for North Central
states Extension Master Gardeners will be held on Wed, Feb 20, 2013 from 11:30AM-1:00PM at
the ISU Scott County Extension & Outreach office 875 Tanglefoot Drive Bettendorf, IA.

Selecting, managing and caring for trees, especially maple, ash and oak on home landscapes is
the focus of this 90 minute webinar. Planting, fertilizer, water and preventing aboitic problems
will be covered by Jeff Gillman, associate professor, University of Minnesota. Michelle
Grabowski, plant pathologist from the University of Minnesota will discuss diseases and insects
will be covered by David J. Shetlar, (the Bug Doc), Professor of Urban Landscape Entomology.
Call the ISU Scott County Extension & Outreach office to register, 359-7577.

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25 Jan 2013

IBHS Offers Guidance on Reducing Risk of Frozen Pipes

By Joseph King

Sub-zero temperatures are making life difficult for people throughout the country. Although you may be concentrated on making sure your fingers and toes don't freeze right now, it is also important to make sure your plumbing doesn't freeze.

A frozen pipe can lead to a pipe burst, which can lead to more than $5,000 in water damage. Despite the current cold temperatures, there are still some last-minute actions you can take to reduce your risks of costly damage.

First, find out the truth about frozen pipes below, and then reduce your risks using frozen pipe resources provided by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS).

FROZEN PIPE MYTHS

1. Only A Plumber Can Prevent Frozen Pipes

Not true. There are many things that you can do yourself to prevent your pipes from freezing, including sealing windows and doors, adding extra insulation, or use heat trace tape around various piping. Find more details at http://www.disastersafety.org/freezing_weather/prevent-frozen-pipes/.

2. Your Risks Go Away When Temperatures Begin To Warm

Actually, signs of a pipe burst are often only seen when temperatures begin to warm. When a pipe freezes the frozen water may act as a plug, allowing any problems to go unnoticed. Before checking to see if you have any issues when temperatures increase, shut off the water supply to reduce your water damage risks.

3. All Frozen Pipes Burst

A pipe can freeze and not burst. However, a frozen pipe leads to a pipe burst, which can cause more than $5,000 in water damage. Prevent a pipe from bursting by not letting them freeze. Use guidance available at http://www.disastersafety.org/freezing_weather/prevent-frozen-pipes/.

4. A Propane Torch Can Be Used To Thaw Pipes

Don't even think about it! You may think it will thaw the pipes and prevent significant damage, but you are only increasing your risk of fire damage.

or via direct message on Twitter @jsalking.

Follow IBHS on Twitter at @DisasterSafety and on

# # #

24 Jan 2013

National Weather Service Quad Cities Winter 2012/2013 Newsletter

By Sandra Stevens
The Winter 2012/2013 issue of the National Weather Service Quad Cities' newsletter is now available on our website at http://www.weather.gov/quadcities/?n=additional-links#newsletter. This link also contains all past issues of our newsletter.  There is also a temporary link under the Top News of the Day section on our main webpage.
18 Jan 2013

Press conference to be held by River Action and the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend (CFGRB)

By Natalie Anderson

Where: Nahant Marsh, 4220 Wapello Avenue, Davenport

When:  1:30 p.m. January 23

Who:  River Action, Community Foundation of the Great River Bend, Nahant Marsh staff, and 30 visiting Augustana College students

A press conference will be held at the Nahant Marsh Education Center, 4220 Wapello Avenue, Davenport, at 1:30 P.M. on Wednesday, January 23rd to announce a $25,000 grant from CFGRB to River Action's QC Wild Places program. This event will be held in conjunction with Augustana College students touring the marsh on their annual Symposium Day.

Established in 2011 with the support of the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend, the QC Wild Places program started as a way to combine the efforts of local natural areas and their managing organizations in collaboration with River Action and area funders. Because wilderness areas are run by various organizations with staff and budgets of varying sizes, it is often difficult for them to receive the funding and publicity they need to increase awareness and make improvements. QC Wild Places is a program dedicated to preserving natural areas around the Quad Cities through service, funding, and awareness. QC Wild Places projects include funding for site improvements, community outreach and awareness, an Explorers Program for children, and conservation efforts. Member sites are located in eight counties around the Quad City region all within an hour's drive of the Quad Cities.

The program brings together 63 natural areas run by 19 organizations and 27 site managers. Select projects include funding a mountain bike trail extension at Sunderbruch Park in Davenport, the construction of a new footbridge at Black Hawk State Historic Site in Rock Island, a trail identification system at Illiniwek Forest Preserve near Hampton, and the site of the news conference, Nahant Marsh - where a sand prairie and turtle nesting site restoration with viewing platform is being built with funds from QC Wild Places provided in part by the CFGRB.

Since 1964, the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend has been dedicated to supporting local nonprofit organizations in our community.

"QC Wild Places is a great example of how the Community Foundation can partner with nonprofits beyond traditional grantmaking," said Matt Mendenhall, Vice President of Programs at the Community Foundation. "Our membership in the River Partnership of Community Foundations has helped us bring national funding and expertise to QC Wild Places, and we look forward to that type of success with other local nonprofits."

***
17 Jan 2013

How You Can Help Tackle the 'Great Pacific Garbage Patch'

By Rick Martin
Activist Shares 5 Tips to Reduce Plastic Waste
& Ocean Pollution

It's a growing problem in the northern Pacific Ocean and one that could change life on our planet within the next 20 years.

"I remember the first time I felt it; I was paddling out on my surfboard and noticed a mushy, plastic-like substance sliding through my fingers. That's what started my obsession with the Great Pacific Garbage Patch," says charity fundraiser and environmentalist Veronica Grey. "The patch is located between Hawaii and California in the northern Pacific Ocean, where millions of small bits of plastic have gathered in a vortex of ocean currents known as a gyre."

As someone with ample experience raising awareness for worthy causes, Grey paired her professional skills with her personal passion for the ocean, creating the award-winning documentary "Aqua Seafoam Shame," (www.Pacific-TV.com), which spotlights the mess in the ocean that has garnered precious little media attention, she says.

"Fifteen years ago The Patch was the size Texas, but now it's the size of the continental United States," says Grey, who used her iPhone to shoot the documentary, which features renowned scientists, journalists and environmentalists.

Plastic in the ocean has far-reaching implications that, if not addressed within 20 years, could change life on this planet, she says. To date, 177 species of sea life are known to ingest plastic; other species feed on those creatures, extending the chain of damage.

"People eat the seafood that eats plastic, and the planet gets its rain from the oceans, which are being polluted at an exponential rate," she says. "We use significantly more of our planet's surface as a dump than for growing food; this has to change."

To begin addressing plastics pollution, Grey encourages people to use alternatives:

• Americans buy 2 million bottles of water every five minutes; ditch plastic bottles and use glass or recyclable cans.

• Carry a cost-effective canvas bag instead getting disposable plastic bags at the grocery store. We waste 10 billion plastic bags every week!

• Do not line your trash cans with plastic bags. Use paper bags or nothing.

• Skip the lid on your to-go drinks. The paper cup is normally recyclable but the lid usually isn't.

• Remember that each and every time you flush; it all ends up in the ocean. Be mindful of what you toss in your toilet!

About Veronica Grey

Veronica Grey is an award-winning author and filmmaker. A graduate of UCLA, she is a regular contributor to TV stations across the country and is the recipient of the 2011 New Media award from the Pare Lorentz Film Festival. "Aqua Seafoam Shame" is a critically acclaimed documentary that explores the diagnosis that 25 percent of our planet's surface is now a landfill, due to the Pacific garbage patch and plastics. The movie also explores the process by which conscientious companies, some because of her encouragement, switched from plastic to a more sustainable alternative. Grey was born on PI (3.14) in PI (Philippines Island) and she is recognized as a numbers savant.

17 Jan 2013

Become a Mater Conservationist in 2013

By Amanda Heitz
If you are interested in understanding the nature around you and making good choices for the environment, the Iowa Master Conservationist program should be on your "to do" list for the new year.

The course will teach topics such as wildlife diversity, prairies and grasslands, wetlands and waste reduction. Participants will receive 32 hours of instruction from February to July, 2013 with many of the classes held at outside locations. A second part of the experience is participation in local natural resource related projects of the student's choosing. Co-sponsored by Nahant Marsh and ISU Scott County Extension and Outreach, the course has support from the Extension Wildlife Programs at Iowa State University.

Registrations are accepted at ISU Scott County Extension and Outreach and there is a maximum class size of 25 so early registrations are encouraged. Participants must be 18 years of age and register by February 11, 2013. Cost is $150.

Contact the Scott County Extension office (563-359-7577) for registration information or Nahant Marsh (563-323-5196) for additional course information.

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