Billowing, black sewer discharge at Niagara Falls alarms businesses, tourists

Here's a great example of government bureaucratic meatheadedness at work.

Apparently the sewer department around Niagara Falls released a bunch of stinking sewer waste right in the middle of a Saturday afternoon with tourists all around the place.

And to boot, somebody says somebody had approved "permits" !!

I bet many tourists will always remember that day.

I'm sure it was enough to trigger everybody's olfactory bulb.

Public Officials there are nominated for this week's Blue Ribbon for complete Moron of the Month.

Billowing, black sewer discharge at Niagara Falls alarms businesses, tourists

There's never a good time to discharge black sewer gunk into Niagara Falls. But doing it on a beautiful Saturday afternoon at the height of tourist season may be the worst timing ever.

Niagara Falls State Park was packed with visitors around 4 p.m. Saturday when the foul-smelling, black discharge came billowing out into the Niagara River within sight of the base of the American Falls, alarming city businesses and tourists as it engulfed the shoreline from the Rainbow Bridge to the Maid of the Mist boat dock.

It turns out the discharge came from the Niagara Falls Waste Water Treatment Plant. The plant had the proper sewer discharge paperwork to release the volume of sewage and sediment that spewed into the river Saturday, according to the Niagara Falls Water Board.

But that didn't keep city leaders and business owners from being upset and frustrated over the Water Board's timing.

"We were shocked," said Nick Melson, Niagara Falls city administrator. "We were caught off guard. We had to do some digging ourselves to find out what was going on. And we are very upset that we weren't notified."

The poor tourists in the "Maid of the Mist" boats were pelted with poop? I smell a lawsuit or two.

a reply to: carewemust


A septic shower..... Nice

Maybe an omen of things to come? It happened at American Falls, the only one of the three waterfalls that is located in America.

a reply to: Bluntone22

I imagine it something like this:

originally posted by: 3NL1GHT3N3D1
Maybe an omen of things to come? It happened at American Falls, the only one of the three waterfalls that is located in America.

American and bridal falls on on the American side.
They always said America got the falls and Canada got the view.
And what a view that was. Lol

Why on earth is sewage water dumped into rivers ?

Don't they have technology now that can compact it , dry it and turn it into energy producing fuel when burned ?
We are wasting waste ... there has to be a better use for human waste.

a reply to: xuenchen

Remember those regulations that Trump loosened so businesses wouldn't be hurt?

Yeah. Those.

Why do you think we raised such a fuss about it?

a reply to: xuenchen

"Though sewage discharge smells bad, it normally does not change the color of the water. But this time sediment from the bottom of the basin also was being released into the waterway, and it contained residue from the black carbon filters that normally trap small particles. That went flowing out with everything else, Porter said."

So did they just unknowingly or knowingly release the bottom setiment / filters and is it considered toxic?

" normally does not change the color of the water"

Okay so is there being an investigation as to why this time?

originally posted by: Sheye
Why on earth is sewage water dumped into rivers ?

Don't they have technology now that can compact it , dry it and turn it into energy producing fuel when burned ?
We are wasting waste ... there has to be a better use for human waste.

Somebody... some president... earlier this year wanted the EPA gone because its regulations were hurting industry. He signed an Executive Order about this. He put a man in charge of the EPA who wants to dismantle the EPA.

I think the statement from those who like the President was on the order of "businesses will regulate themselves."

This is the way that businesses "regulated" themselves back in the 1960's, which led to the EPA and all those policies. As the EPA is closed down and power stripped from it for enforcement and staff cut back, expect to see more.

originally posted by: Byrd
a reply to: xuenchen

Remember those regulations that Trump loosened so businesses wouldn't be hurt?

Yeah. Those.

Why do you think we raised such a fuss about it?

LOL

What?

This was a government boondoggle.



But just for fun, what "loosened regulations" would have stopped this debacle?

a reply to: Antipathy17

Good question.

originally posted by: Antipathy17
a reply to: xuenchen
Okay so is there being an investigation as to why this time?

Well, you see, the EPA usually handles this type of investigation.

Only a president of the United States decided that the EPA needs to be gone (see above message.) I don' t know if they have manpower or even power to enforce this Not Happening Again because people want the EPA gone.

originally posted by: xuenchen

originally posted by: Byrd
a reply to: xuenchen

Remember those regulations that Trump loosened so businesses wouldn't be hurt?

Yeah. Those.

Why do you think we raised such a fuss about it?

LOL

What?

This was a government boondoggle.

But just for fun, what "loosened regulations" would have stopped this debacle?

Look it up for yourself. I'll give you a hint... involves loosened regulations about what can be discharged into waterways.

a reply to: Byrd

But But

This incident came from a government water treatment plant right?

a reply to: Byrd

As suspected and expected.

A zero-zilch answer.

Fail.

originally posted by: Byrd
a reply to: xuenchen

Remember those regulations that Trump loosened so businesses wouldn't be hurt?

Yeah. Those.

Why do you think we raised such a fuss about it?

I'm pretty this isn't any different than before January 20th. Just bad timing on this one.
But hey, never waste an opportunity to show your TDS.

ETA- Ran a WWT system for years and my best friend is an EPA regulator. Hell I'm still certified with the NDEQ

a reply to: xuenchen

Why would anyone EVER have a permit to release sewage into a river?? What happened to water treatment?? Does that mean "store and release"???

GACK.

a reply to: Bluntone22

I've been there a few times. Canada's side has all the fun stuff too. A big carnival with rides and museums like Ripley's Believe it Or Not and a Wax Museum and a museum dedicated to contraptions people have attempted to ride over the falls. At one point they boasted the world's highest Ferris wheels.

Many years ago the region was subject to clean up through the Super Fund legislation to clean up the most polluted waterways in the country.
This young liberal considered it a political victory for the planet when super fund was created

en.m.wikipedia.org...

originally posted by: xuenchen
a reply to: Byrd

But But

This incident came from a government water treatment plant right?

So did all the sickness and early deaths that will come in Flint, Michigan. Democrats running Michigan and Flint, were busy doing everything except looking out for their citizens.