Wolf Creek is now able to move ahead with plans to tap tourist and visitor spending to help finance the towns new wastewater system.

A Jan. 16 letter from Meg OLeary, director of Montanas Department of Commerce, said the town met the resort area designation criteria, which call for a population of less than 2,500 that derives the major portion of its economic well-being from businesses catering to the recreational and personal needs of persons traveling to or through the area for purposes not related to their income production.

Joe Ramler, a department senior economist, prepared the report that supported granting the resort area designation.

Some of the data in Ramlers analysis is confidential as it contains data on specific businesses and wont be released.

However, a summary of the report, without that individual business data, will be released, he said.

Protection for the financial information of a business is part of the state law on the granting of resort area designations. The law says that the reporting coupons submitted by businesses when remitting the sales tax are not open for public inspection unless required by resort areas governing body, which would be the county commission or a district court decision.

That conclusion, Ramler said, came from three sources of data.

Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks prepares monthly fishing reports for every body of water in the state, he said.

The FWP data was evaluated for trends in fishing on both the Missouri River, from the Wolf Creek bridge to Cascade, and Holter Lake.

Data gleaned from a traffic counter on the frontage road that leads from Wolf Creek north to the bridge over the Missouri River was examined too.

View original post here:
Wolf Creek resort tax clears hurdle

Cairo For the residents of the Middle East and Africa's largest city, Cairo, 2013 ended with the often repeated government promise to finally provide basic services and development in the slums, where half of the city's residents live.

But instead of waiting for Prime Minister Hazem Al-Beblawi's slum renewal project, announced in November, to bear fruit, many are simply coping as best they can without the state.

When basic services are lacking, it is often down to slum dwellers to use their own initiative. They dig land, construct septic tanks and water pipes, install storage barrels, and raise community funds to get private engineers to build sewage pipes and connect them to the main network.

"These communities have an inherent self-reliance in finding ways to get by," said Thomas Culhane, co-founder of Solar CITIES, an NGO that invests in solar and renewable energy in poor communities.

Few sit around waiting for the government to fulfil its promises.

"There's a lot of mistrust among slum residents regarding the government's intentions. They've been promised so many things, yet nothing's been delivered," said Khalil Shaat, technical advisor at the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).

According to official government figures, Cairo has 112 informal areas. Out of those, 24 are classified as "category I", or life-threatening. Twenty-eight are "category II", meaning unsuitable housing; 11 are "category III", meaning health-threatening; and 49 are "planned".

Ezzat Naem Guindy, the founder of the Spirit of Youth Association for Environmental Service (SOY), which works in Manshiet Nasser, one of Cairo's largest slums, says the area is a "model" in terms of self-reliance. While the government is not completely absent, poor infrastructure and the irregular provision of public services create serious problems.

IRIN took a look at how Manshiet Nasser slum residents survive, and how they compensate for the lack of state support with their own networks of services.

Water and sewage

Read the original here:
Egypt: Living Without the State in Cairo's Slums

GROTON -- Looking to expand the role of the Lost Lake Sewer Advisory Committee, members brainstormed ideas with the aim of approaching selectmen for a change in its mandate.

Originally established to study septic conditions at Lost Lake, the committee's recommendation to build a $12.9 million sewer system that would have connected the neighborhood with a treatment plant in Ayer was rejected at a 2012 Town Meeting.

One reason for the rejection was due to the uncertainty that the source of the contamination of the lakes was coming from neighborhood septic systems. Instead, residents insisted a more thorough study of the area around the lakes be undertaken.

A reconstituted Lost Lake Sewer Committee was appointed and consultants were hired to proceed with testing, which proved inconclusive.

Findings did indicate unexpected "emergent contaminants" at different points, including those near the Water Department's Whitney Well site.

Emergent contaminants is a new category of potential pollutants of ground water that is little understood in how it travels in the groundwater or how much of a threat to people its presence might be.

Comprised mostly of prescription medicines, testing at two sites on the lakes indicated the presence of five kinds of drugs and chemicals, including tranquilizers, nicotine, insect repellent, pain relievers and medicines needed to control seizures.

Initial results of the testing indicated relatively low concentrations of nitrates and phosphates, the more common pollutants.

The results left the committee with little support for the installation of an expensive sewer system, particularly if that system could potentially address only part of the contamination problem.

"The testing raised more questions than it answered," said Chairman Jack Petropoulos Thursday.

See the article here:
Groton panel continues to seek ways to solve sewer issue

We told you last month about unsafe drinking water in Granger and Gilmer Park in St. Joseph County.

A group tasked with finding solutions is looking at a number of possibilities.

"We're looking at a whole range of perhaps 30 different alternatives and it will vary depending on how severe the water contamination problem is in any given area," says St. Joseph County Environmental Health Director, Marc Nelson.

Some of those alternatives include things like sewer service, water service, and upgrading septic systems.

For now, folks can install water filtration systems.

"It's important to have one good, safe, trusted water source in your house," says Culligan Water Specialist, Kurt Sells.

Sells says that can be done with a reverse osmosis system. Experts can hook the filtration system up to your kitchen faucet. Sells says it can remove up to 87 percent of nitrates in drinking water.

"You use it in your coffee pot. You use it when you're making the kids Kool-Aid, you use it when you're washing off your vegetables and your fruit. You've got perfect water that you're using for that all the time," says Sells.

The health department says 20 percent of homes in Gilmer Park and 10 percent of Granger homes exceed the federal standard of nitrates in drinking water. That's ten parts per million.

A long term solution could take years, but now they've voted on a plan to move forward.

Read the rest here:
St. Joseph County looking for solutions to drinking water problems

Menshiet Nasser is one of Cairo's largest slums

But instead of waiting for Prime Minister Hazem Al-Beblawis slum renewal project, announced in November, to bear fruit, many are simply coping as best they can without the state.

When basic services are lacking, it is often down to slum dwellers to use their own initiative. They dig land, construct septic tanks and water pipes, install storage barrels, and raise community funds to get private engineers to build sewage pipes and connect them to the main network.

These communities have an inherent self-reliance in finding ways to get by, said Thomas Culhane, co-founder of Solar CITIES, an NGO that invests in solar and renewable energy in poor communities.

Few sit around waiting for the government to fulfil its promises.

Theres a lot of mistrust among slum residents regarding the governments intentions. Theyve been promised so many things, yet nothings been delivered, said Khalil Shaat, technical advisor at the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).

According to official government figures, Cairo has 112 informal areas. Out of those, 24 are classified as category I, or life-threatening. Twenty-eight are category II, meaning unsuitable housing; 11 are category III, meaning health-threatening; and 49 are planned.

Ezzat Naem Guindy, the founder of the Spirit of Youth Association for Environmental Service (SOY), which works in Manshiet Nasser, one of Cairos largest slums, says the area is a model in terms of self-reliance. While the government is not completely absent, poor infrastructure and the irregular provision of public services create serious problems.

IRIN took a look at how Manshiet Nasser slum residents survive, and how they compensate for the lack of state support with their own networks of services.

Water and sewage

See the article here:
Living without the state in Cairos slums

(BPT) - Nearly everyone has a home improvement impossible dream an inground pool in a postage-stamp-sized backyard or a professional-grade kitchen on a $5,000 budget. Some homeowners might say their cant-do renovation is adding a bathroom in an impossible space. But enterprising homeowners and contractors are using a long-proven technology to creatively add bathrooms in a variety of locations once considered impossible for plumbing.

Above-the-floor plumbing, also known as up-flush plumbing, has been a dependable alternative for homeowners who wanted to add a bathroom in a basement where breaking into concrete flooring makes conventional plumbing laborious, costly and high-risk. In the Northeast and the upper Midwest, most homes are built with basements and a high population density requires homeowners to make the most of all available living space. In these regions, up-flush plumbing has been a solution-of-choice for quickly, cost-effectively adding a toilet in a basement environment. But the technologys usefulness extends far beyond the basement.

In the South, Southwest and West, many homes are built on concrete slabs, so above-the-floor plumbing is a natural solution for adding a ground-floor bathroom, says contractor Mario Rink of Mechanical Solutions LLC in Culpeper, Va. Rink has long used a macerating toilet and plumbing system by Saniflo to help his clients create bathrooms where none existed before. Its also a great alternative in a range of other settings where traditional plumbing can be problematic, such as the raised homes you see in shore towns and southern bayous, or historic homes.

Macerating systems use a pump to reduce waste and paper from the toilet and send it under high pressure through piping directly into the septic or sewer system. No waste is stored, and the systems are low-cost compared to traditional plumbing. If youve dreamed of adding a bathroom, but thought it was impossible, here are five impossible scenarios where above-the-floor plumbing may be the solution:

* Ground floor on slab construction

Owners of slab-built homes may hesitate to cut into the concrete foundation in order to accommodate conventional plumbing. No matter how careful a contractor is when cutting into concrete, a variety of problems can arise from unexpected obstructions to poor-fitting patches and even stress cracks.

Cut and patched concrete is simply never as strong as concrete that has never been cut, Rink notes. Up-flush plumbing eliminates the need to cut into a slab and possibly compromise its integrity.

* Historic homes

Opening walls or floors to accommodate piping may jeopardize historic elements, such as original wood flooring or plaster walls. Systems like Saniflos macerating toilet and plumbing technology eliminate the need to cut through a floor to install new drainage, while minimizing the impact on walls as well. The system also fits easily into small areas like a closet or the dead space behind a stairway, meaning homeowners dont have to give up any room and compromise the flow of their historic homes in order to add a bathroom.

* Raised homes

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Got an 'impossible' space? The no-fail way to turn it into a bathroom

WARREN - At $12 million, the project to rid Warren Township's Meadowbrook neighborhood of pollution by replacing broken down septic systems with sanitary sewer lines is among the most expensive of the mandated upgrades in Trumbull County.

Adding to financial strains is the fact that the area east of the Mahoning River in Leavittsburg is home to low-to-moderate income residents.

Combined, it's a double whammy that may push the project to the end of the list.

''It's a big project, the income level of the people in that area lends itself to a project that really has to have a pretty good grant to offset, so people can afford it,'' said Rex Fee, executive director of the Trumbull County Sanitary Engineer's Office.

The office would like to see the project, one of a dozen to remedy failing or malfunctioning septic systems in a consent decree with the state, pushed back five years because of the cost and inability for residents there to pay for it.

It is scheduled to be completed by 2015.

By numbers

$40.1 million: Total cost for consent decree sewer projects completed or under construction.

$11 million: Total cost for economic development and petition sewer projects completed or under construction, since 2007.

$51.1 million: Total project costs.

More:
Delay is proposedon sewer

Drain fields are another important part of a septic system. Once wastewater has been purified in the septic tank, it then moves through a solid drain pipe into the drain field. The ins and outs of septic systems are not always on the minds of home and business owners. Thats why Atlanta septic system owners call upon Mr. Septic for all of their sewer and septic related questions and service needs.

Every septic system, from the tank to the drain field, is designed to handle a certain amount of wastewater. Our expert Atlanta septic technicians can identify the best size and type of drain field for your needs as well as the best location on your property. From soil type to the number of people regularly using the system, we will help you make an informed decision on the best type of septic system for your needs.

When water from the septic tank enters the drain field, it either evaporates or seeps into the underlying soil. Because septic systems are designed to handle a specific amount of wastewater, it can be a problem when the limit is exceeded regularly. When the drain field remains saturated, a bacterial mat may form along the trench walls. The slimy mat that builds up then prevents the drain field from properly seeping through the walls of the drain field.

While you may not always be able to tell when your drain field is clogged, there are a few warning signs you can keep an eye out for. The following warning signs will be most obvious on days when a lot of water is being used, such as on laundry day:

Drains gurgling Slow draining water Wet spots in the yard Water coming up through the lower house level floor drains

The sewer and septic experts of Atlantas Mr. Septic are experienced in installing new drain fields as well as unclogging and repairing existing drain fields. Whether you need a drain field installation or repair, call our septic team today!

See original here:
Drain Field Installation - Sewer Septic Service | Septic Tank ...

Rocky Mountain Water Works is proud to be the premier source for Loveland co excavation, irrigation, septic,water and sewer needs. Were a locally based, veteran owned and operated company dedicated to meeting the water and excavation needs of northern Colorado businesses, contractors, utility districts,residential and agricultural customers. We bring the same commitment to excellence and attention to detail that was instilled and honed in the United States Marine Corps to every project, regardless of size.

While were the top choice for Loveland co excavation, our services dont end there. We offer a number of services to our residential, commercial, agricultural, and municipal customers:

And much more!

Though based in Loveland Colorado, we service the entire Front Range including Larimer and Weld County as well as Northern Denver and Southern Wyoming. As a local business were able to provide our services at a fraction of that charged by larger, National companies. In addition tovalue, you get the knowledge and satisfaction that Rocky Mountain Water Works will get the job done correctly, quickly, up to code and with utmost professionalism. Its this commitment to excellence thatmakes us the number one choice forLoveland, co excavation and water services.

Rocky Mountain Water Works employs a fleet of advanced equipment in addition to good old fashioned manual labor to make quick work of any excavation job for our customers. We specialize in commercial, residential and agricultural excavation. Septic ponds, sewer trenches, basements, water line trenches and silage pits are all well within our realm of experience and services. No job is too small or large for us to handle. In addition to commercial and residential services, Rocky Mountain Water Works crews are available for agricultural and municipal projects as well.

Phone: (970) 290-4241

Email: Nate@RMWaterWorks.com

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Loveland CO Excavation - Rocky Mountain Water Works | Rocky ...

LAKE VIEW SEWAGE

Lake View Elementary school can be seen as Lighting Septic Tank Service owner Mark Tomberlin, left, and assistant Kevin Abbott pump raw sewage from a holding tank at Lake View Elementary School in Lake View, Ala. Friday, July 31, 2009. The school will continue having the sewage pumped due to an ongoing issue over the sewage lines. (Dusty Compton / Tuscaloosa News)

The nearly six-year legal battle over sewer service access at Lake View Elementary School is almost at an end.

Separate actions this week by the Tuscaloosa County Board of Education and Tuscaloosa County Commission served to accept a settlement offer from Serma Holdings, the Leeds-based company that originally was contracted to provide sewer service to the school but never did.

On Monday, the Tuscaloosa County Board of Education voted unanimously to accept a reimbursement of $300,000 from Serma Holdings.

And on Wednesday, the County Commission voted unanimously to take ownership of an unused portion of sewer pipeline from the Lake View Public Service Commission, which was one of the terms included in the final settlement offer to the county board.

All that remains before the legal dispute is officially concluded is votes of approval by the Lake View Town Council and the Lake View Public Service Commission board of directors.

"It's finally a conclusion," said Ray Ward, a county board of education attorney who has been involved in the legal dispute since its inception. "Serma paid (the settlement) as partial reimbursement for the cost incurred to the board.

"In addition, they'll give us a portion of the disputed sewer line back, which we paid to install."

J. Michael White, operating manager of Serma Holdings, also said he's glad that the ordeal is almost over.

Read more from the original source:
County Commission, BOE vote to end Lake View sewer dispute