sanitary sewer – The B Square

On Monday, city of Bloomington utilities (CBU) posted an alert on Facebook about a sanitary sewer overflow on Rogers Street between Charlie Avenue and Old State Road 37.

The red arrow indicates the location of the Charlie Avenue and Rogers Street sanitary sewer overflow. That location, like many plotted on the map, has seen more than one overflow in the last quarter century. The dots are partly transparent so that more than one incident is visible. Note: The size of the dots corresponds to the number of gallons estimated in the overflow, not the geographic extent of the overflow.

The Facebook posting advised: “Any individual who has come into direct contact with untreated sewage is advised to wash their hands and clothing thoroughly.”

What caused the overflow?

Based on a dataset maintained by the city of Bloomington, which goes back more than a quarter century, the most frequent cause of a sanitary sewer overflow is “precipitation.”

And the early-week sanitary sewer overflow at Rogers Street and Charlie Avenue squares up with the 2.15 inches of rain that fell on Bloomington on Monday. That’s the amount reported by the National Weather Service for the 24-hours ending at 7 p.m. on March 7, 2022.

What’s the connection between heavy rain and sanitary sewer overflows? And what is CBU doing about it, to prevent future sanitary sewer overflows? Continue reading “When it rains, it sewers: Monday’s overflow first in 8 months for Bloomington utilities” →