city sewers
We've written here about Wilmington's sewer system, and how when it rains more than one-tenth of an inch, raw sewage mixes with rainwater, and flows into the Christina, making the City's Riverfront a less than attractive place. So, how are other cities doing, as they struggle with outdated sewers?

Wilmington will spend almost $120 million over the next twenty years. There are at least 772 cities and towns that need to address similar problems, and the pricetag for all of them combined might reach $45 billion. Indianapolis will spend over $1 billion during that same time period. Pittsburgh has a 12 year, $3 billion cleanup plan. Atlanta faces $2 billion worth of drilling, and installing new sewers:

During the next 10 years, the average wastewater bill for Atlanta residents is expected to rise from the current $31 to about $65 a month. In return, taxpayers will get something that may have no price, said David Peters, Atlanta's environmental director.

"There are a lot of spring-fed natural creeks that flow through Atlanta and once this work progresses people are going to see these streams turn crystal clear," Peters said. "People want their streams back and they're going to get them."

The EPA lists 900 cities in their pages on Combined Sewer Overflows, including a city-by-city list in pdf format. The Delaware town of Seaford also faces a similar problem.