Clean Water Advocacy - Newsroom - AMSA in the News
Practice Of Blending Is Appropriate
The Dec. 11 article stating that 40 million gallons of partially treated sewage was dumped into Lake Michigan missed the mark and misstated the facts on the key practice of blending ("MMSD dumps 40 million gallons"). Blending has been an accepted, environmentally beneficial practice for wastewater treatment plants nationwide for decades.
Despite the article's misleading statement that blending has merely been
"OK'd by federal environmental officials as a last-ditch measure," a reading of
the Environmental Protection Agency's Nov. 7 guidance on this issue would have
revealed that, according to the EPA, blending is a critical environmental and
public health safeguard.
As the EPA states, blending ensures that peak flows during periods of heavy rain
receive basic treatment in full compliance with a treatment plant's Clean Water
Act permit requirements. Blending protects a plant's secondary treatment unit
from wash-out, which would cause severe environmental and public health
consequences. Blending also protects homes and businesses from sewer backups,
which would directly threaten public health.
The Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies urges responsible newspapers
like the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and groups like Friends of Milwaukee Rivers
to review the reasons behind the need for blending peak flows as well as the
dangerous consequences that could ensue without blending.
Ken Kirk
Executive director
Association of Metropolitan
Sewerage Agencies
Washington
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Decision doesn't seem to make sense
Here we go again: 40 million gallons dumped into our lake.
People, plan ahead for no lake fun next summer. One rainstorm, deep tunnels only
one-third full, and 40 million gallons dumped into Lake Michigan. It doesn't
make sense.
We need someone with better sense to run the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage
District. Stop the dumping now!
Joyce Kelley
Germantown