The Current Combined Sewer Overflow Status is :  Not Overflowing!

The last overflow occurred on:
September  14th, 2008.

Total volume overflowed during that time period was:
 55.2 million gallons

Click Here for Previous CSO Overflow Information

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La Porte's Approved Long Term Combined Sewer Overflow Control Plan
(This link is to a large (22 MB) .pdf  file.)

Information on Combined Sewer Systems:
    When La Porte was being built during the 19th and 20th centuries, it was common practice to take the rain water run off from roads and homes and drain that water into the sewer system to get it away from the town.  This practice of "combining" the storm water drainage system with the sanitary sewage removal system resulted in the construction of combined sewer systems.  There are currently 772 cities in the United States that have combined sewer systems. As can be seen on the following map, a majority of the cities with combined sewer systems are located in the Midwest and Northeast.

    When it rains, cities that have Combined Sewer systems don't have the capability to treat all the water that goes into the collection system.  This results in a Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) during which storm water and untreated sewage are discharged directly to the environment.  
    The City of La Porte has a CSO site located on the southeastern side of the Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTP) at 2101 Boyd Blvd.  This CSO site (see included picture) is located behind a 17 acre wastewater storage lagoon.
    When it rains in La Porte, the WWTP can treat up to 10 million gallons of wastewater a day.  If there is more water than capacity at the WWTP, then the excess water is diverted into our storage lagoon, which has the current capacity to hold approximately 10 million gallons of water.  When the rain is over and there is capacity at the WWTP to handle additional flow, pumps in the storage lagoon are turned on and the rain/sewage water is pumped into the WWTP for proper treatment.
    On some occasions, there is more rainwater coming into the system than the lagoon can hold for treatment.  Once the lagoon has filled to its maximum capacity, the mixture of rain and sewage overflows from the CSO point (see picture) into Travis Ditch, where it combines with the discharge of treated water from the WWTP.  During the infrequent periods when an overflow is occurring, the waters of Travis Ditch become less safe due to an increased presence of bacteria.  Residents who live near Travis Ditch, or people who could come in contact with the waters of Travis should take extra precautions to avoid the water during this time.  If you do come into contact with the water during, or in the two days following a CSO discharge, you should make sure to wash the area that contacted the water with soap and clean water or use a suitable non-water based disinfectant (such as an alcohol-based antibacterial lotion).    
    The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in coordination with the individual State environmental departments have passed laws that are designed to minimize CSO events in the future.  The City of La Porte, under the direction of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) is currently working on a Long Term Control Plan (LTCP) to minimize future impacts on the environment from La Porte's CSO.

CSO Related Links:

EPA's CSO Website

IDEM's CSO Website