Human waste backing up in basements is a gut-churning sign of US infrastructure problems
Source: AP
By MICHAEL PHILLIS and M.K. WILDEMAN
Updated 5:04 PM CDT, March 10, 2026
WASHINGTON (AP) — The January collapse of a pipe as wide as a car dumped so much sewage into the Potomac River that officials tracked a spike of gut-wrenching bacteria drifting slowly past Washington for weeks, prompting an emergency declaration and federal assistance.
It was a disaster of historic scale — 244 million gallons (924 million liters) spilled — spotlighting the severe consequences of old, failing infrastructure. But smaller sewer overflows that draw far less notice are common. Tens of thousands occur every year across the U.S., contaminating rivers, flooding streets and sometimes causing backups into homes that threaten human health.
“It’s really one of those out of sight, out of mind problems that doesn’t rise to the top until it becomes a crisis,” said Alice Volpitta, the Baltimore Harbor waterkeeper with the nonprofit Blue Water Baltimore.
At least 18.7 million people are served by one of roughly 1,000 utilities that are in serious violation of pollution limits. At least 2.7 million live with a system that violated federal clean water rules continually over the last three years, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal data.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/sewage-overflows-potomac-epa-water-trump-baltimore-be71eea20324a911142e1d0dfe627fa4
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They called them sewage farms.
And they still do.....causing animals and soil to turn toxic with forever chemicals. Maybe that's OK in China, but we can do better in the US.
