An act of water treatment plant vandalism recently left 2,000 residents in Crow Agency, Montana, without clean water and caused $1 million in damage.

The vandals fired gunshots into processing equipment and set fire to whatever they could find.

“Probably the most disturbing thing was the gunshot holes in my desk, our computer screens,” Candy Felicia, the director of the Crow Tribe’s Water Authority, told KTVH News.

Felicia speculated that the vandals were trying to burn the plant down, but since it’s made out of concrete, it wouldn’t ignite. They also fired shots at a chlorine tank and burned water data records.

Source: KTVH News

Regulators Questioning Another Unplanned Discharge Into Niagara River

State regulators are asking questions following another unplanned discharge into the Niagara River by the Niagara Falls Water Board’s wastewater treatment plant.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation investigated discolored water in the Niagara River after getting a report from the board during a period of heavy rain.

“These continued violations are wholly unacceptable,” the DEC says in a written statement. “The board must take immediate corrective measures and DEC will pursue additional enforcement as appropriate.”

Source: WSKG News

New Brewery Under Fire for Contamination in Effluent

Sewer authorities are questioning the owners of Tree House Brewing Co. in Charlton, Massachusetts, after reports surfaced showing that the brewery is discharging wastewater with high levels of contamination.

The Charlton Water & Sewer Commission sent a letter to the brewery’s engineer, who helped design the company that opened in July. It said the town has “many troubling questions” about the effluent flow and values for metals as well as BOD, TSS, ammoniacal nitrogen, phosphorus and nitrate, as they all were in excess of values proposed by the engineers during the planning phase of the brewery.

Source: Telegram.com

Power Outage Causes 1.25 Million-Gallon Wastewater Spill in Florida

A power outage at a wastewater treatment plant in Fort Pierce, Florida, recently caused about 1.25 million gallons of wastewater to be released in to the Indian River Lagoon.

The release didn’t pose a threat to people or wildlife, according to a spokesperson from the Fort Pierce Utilities Authority.

The release was reported to the state DEP, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Health Department in St. Lucie County.

Source: TC Palm