Tag: sewage treatment plants

Keeping Drugs Out of the Water

There’s more evidence that small amounts of pharmaceuticals are finding their way into the environment and potentially causing harm. So, some communities are collecting unused drugs and destroying them. Chuck Quirmbach reports:

Transcript

There’s more evidence that small amounts of pharmaceuticals are finding their way into
the environment and potentially causing harm . So, some communities are collecting
unused drugs and destroying them. Chuck Quirmbach reports:


Sewage treatment plants can’t screen out all the medicines that either pass through the
body, or if unused, are flushed down the drain. Some studies have shown the
pharmaceuticals affect fish, or end up in fertilizer that’s put on lawns and gardens. So
some cities have started pharmaceutical collection days. Jean Zyla brought a grocery
bag full of old medicine to a site in Milwaukee:


“I believe very strongly in the environment, and preserving it, and
I wanna protect the citizens and the animal population and everything. I believe very
strongly in that!”


Pharmacists were on hand to examine the medicines and make sure that controlled
substances were taken in by police. The rest of the drugs are to go to an incinerator in
Texas.


For the Environment Report, I’m Chuck Quirmbach

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President’s Budget Cuts Great Lakes Programs

The President’s proposed budget calls for big boosts in military and homeland security spending. And deep cuts to many domestic programs. As the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Rebecca Williams reports, the Great Lakes are getting their share of cuts too:

Transcript

The President’s proposed budget calls for big boosts in military and
homeland security spending. And deep cuts to many domestic programs.
As the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Rebecca Williams reports, the
Great Lakes are getting their share of cuts too:


Several groups are calling the President’s budget a net loss for the Great
Lakes.


A fund that helps states update their outdated sewage treatment plants is
slated to get one of the biggest cuts. Programs that protect fisheries from
the destructive sea lamprey would also get cut back.


Andy Buchsbaum directs the Great Lakes office of the National Wildlife
Federation.


“We knew that it was going to be a tight budget year, but it really was pretty
shocking to see the level of cuts in key Great Lakes programs. Now
there were some programs that went up but by and large across the board
the programs were severely cut, in things that are just critical.”


One action Buchsbaum says is critical is stopping the Asian carp from
getting into the Great Lakes. Right now, there’s no federal funding for an
electric barrier designed to keep the invasive carp out.


It’s now up to Congress to decide whether to go through with these
proposed cuts.


For the GLRC, I’m Rebecca Williams.

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Report: Aging Sewer Systems Plague Ontario

A new report finds outdated sewage systems are polluting waters throughout Ontario. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports:

Transcript

A new report finds outdated sewage systems are polluting waters throughout Ontario. The Great
Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports:


The report says aging treatment plants are dumping improperly treated sewage into Ontario
waterways, especially when rain or snow overload the system.


It’s a problem that’s found all over North America.


The latest report comes from the Ontario Environmental Commissioner. It says 38 percent of the
province’s sewage is released into Lake Ontario. Commissioner Gord Miller says that waste
threatens the ecosystem.


“You can actually get the risk of fish kills, of fish avoidance, loss of fish habitat, and then you can
get discharges of actual toxic materials, like ammonia.”


Miller says the sewage is not threatening people’s drinking water. But it’s harming fish and
wildlife, and leading to the closure of beaches.


He wants to see Ontario study and address the problem.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I”m Karen Kelly.

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Lake Levels Scrape Bottom

Much of the industry in the nation’s mid-section relies on
shipments of raw materials on the Great Lakes. Great Lakes ports in the
U-S and Canada handle more than 200-million tons of material annually.
The Lakes are also a source of water and recreation for nearly a third
of
the nation’s population. But, during the last two years, water levels
have
been falling at a record breaking pace. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Lester Graham reports: