Omaha has a sewer service population of 600,000 and has a sewer system that handles raw sewage, a combo of sewage and storm water, and one for storm water alone, the last of which does not concern us here! Apparently that combo sewer can cause problems, so those combo sewer lines are getting scheduled to be replaced by two separate pipes, one for sewage and one for storm water.
Oddly, I ran into an example of that at the Lauritzen Gardens, the city's botanical garden. Read the text on the signs below this group picture (click image for the large size). Combo sewer really are on their way out.
I suspect these green pipes are sewer-related air intakes for the sewer piping below in the street in downtown Omaha, but could not find confirmation anywhere.
Now, of much more interest is this place, the Harney Street Force Main Building:
It is right on the banks of the Missouri River. Just stumbled on it by accident because since I was in Omaha, I had to see the Missouri River. And there this sewage-related thing was. It took forever to find anything online on this place. But I did find this document (I was too stingy to pay for anything but the cheapo hotel internet connection, so maybe your download to view won't be as awful as mine was):
Sewage spill possibilities and remedies are outlined. This is a city that has flooded before. It is next to a major river. The photos of pump stations and levees are at the end.
There just doesn't seem to be that much on Omaha's sanitation system, a large old city. It has less historical sewer stuff than Los Osos by far. Here is what I found more generally:
And there are these three plants:
Missouri River Wastewater Treatment Plant:
Papillion Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant:
Elkhorn Wastewater Treatment Plant: - couldn't find zip on it, maybe this is why:
Too dinky.
However, if in need, Omaha can give you some sewer back-up help:
Backwater Prevention Assistance Program
The City of Omaha Backwater Prevention Assistance Program is one of the City of Omaha's solutions to minimize sewer backups in homes and businesses situated in combined sewer neighborhoods that are not immediately scheduled for a sewer separation under the City of Omaha CSO Control Program. If eligible, a "Backwater Valve" will be installed by a licensed plumber in the home/business to prevent future wet-weather related basement back-ups. For more information, call (402) 444-5332 and indicate that you are inquiring about the City of Omaha's Backwater Prevention Assistance Program.Amazing how much sewage-related stuff one can find roaming around a city without even looking for it!
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