When stormwater and municipal wastewater overwhelm treatment plants, cities get overwhelmed with overflows that can close Great Lakes beaches, threaten drinking water supplies and prove too expensive and time-consuming to fix.
Jan. 21, 2013
Urban flooding a regional dilemma
Getting a handle on the problem is difficult as property owners often don’t want to talk about sewage spilling into their homes.
April 5, 2011
Milwaukee pioneers innovative stormwater controls
Milwaukee built some of the region’s first sewers to carry untreated wastewater into rivers and the lake. But today the city is a national leader in reducing stormwater runoff.
December 13, 2010
Greening sewers saves environment, money
Detroit is greening its sewer systems with environmentally friendly technologies.
December 8, 2010
Sprawl, climate change, carp control hinder Chicago sewer solution
Sprawl creates more wastewater. Climate change may increase rainfall, and separating the Mississippi River system from the Great Lakes Basin to combat invasive species could mean greater issues for Chicago area sewers.
August 13, 2010
Healthy Great Lakes depend on federal money for region’s polluting sewers
Funding sewer system upgrades is expensive. The EPA estimated $23.3 billion is needed to upgrade them in the Great Lakes states alone.
February 15, 2010
Cities promote rain gardens to manage stormwater runoff
More than a decade ago, Maplewood, Minn. officials began creating rain gardens whenever they rebuilt the streets.