Sewer Overflows in Highland Park: an Annual Treat
In tomorrow’s paper, you’ll find a story I wrote about sewer overflows in the Highland Park, and what the town is attempting to do to fix them. There was a bunch of stuff I couldn’t cram into the story, so I thought I’d throw it up here.
As I’m sure you’re aware, the overflows happen mostly during rainstorms. Runoff gets into the sewer lines, pushing them over capacity. The result is the blowouts you see near Lakeside and Armstrong.
Jump with me for the number of overflows the town has had every year since 1997:
1997: 45 1998: 30 1999: 31
2000: 33 2001: 10 2002: 16
2003: 6 2004: 17 2005: 0
2006: 26 2007: 13 2008: 8
2009: 19 2010: 15 2011: 1
As of March 31, the town has had 27 so far this year, not including any that may have occurred during last week’s tornado festival. It’s a problem that the town is trying in earnest to fix, because, let’s face it, no one likes sewage running through the streets.
