Burning ban lifted; Rain causes sanitary sewer overflow Sunday; National Child Safety Council soliciting funds

Burning ban lifted

Fairfield Fire Chief Scott Vaughan is lifting the burning ban in Jefferson County today.

Vaughan said while there has been adequate rainfall to lift the ban, brush will dry out quickly and emphasized to ?be cautious while burning.?

Vaughan requests county residents call the fire department at 472-9212 before proceeding to provide their address and cell phone number.

He expects people who live in the country have a stockpile of have waste and brush since the burn ban has been in effect since July 10.

Burning is permitted during daylight hours. Vaughan advises people to keep a water source nearby and not to leave the fire unattended at any time.

?All it takes is one ember to fly onto a CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) field and it will take off,? warned Vaughan.

The city of Fairfield allows the burning of yard waste, leaves and brush in April, October and November.

The burning of such items is permitted only during daylight hours Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays during April, October and November.

Household garbage, scrap building materials and other similar items are not to be burned.

Rain causes sanitary sewer overflow Sunday

Approximately 1.02 inches of rainfall in Fairfield Sunday resulted in about 3,750 gallons of sanitary sewer overflow from the city?s collection system.

The overflow went to Crow Creek.

Also, due to a mechanical failure at the wastewater treatment plant, an undetermined amount of sewage was bypassed between 4 and 5:30 p.m.

Samples of the creek were taken, and test results are pending. No fish kill was found in the stream.

Fairfield has a serious inflow and infiltration problem as shown by these sanitary sewer overflows. A sanitary sewer overflow is a discharge of wastewater to the environment. Overflows occur when there is too much water for the sewer system to handle, such as during a rainfall or a rapid snow melt.

In Fairfield, sanitary sewer overflows are exacerbated by an aging sewer infrastructure with defects, such as broken and cracked pipes and illegal connections of roof drains, sump pumps an footing drains. All are sources of inflow and infiltration.

Sanitary sewer overflows are not allowed by the City?s National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit and the city is working to improve the wastewater collection system to prevent overflow events, while treatment plant staff is working to maximize operational control to manage bypass to the lowest volume possible.

National Child Safety Council soliciting funds

Geri Hauschild, safety coordinator for the National Child Safety Council, will be soliciting local businesses for donations via mail, telephonically and in person this week.

These donations purchase age-appropriate safety and educational material that will be provided to kindergarten through sixth graders throughout the Fairfield schools.

In addition, the program provides the Fairfield Police Department pamphlets targeted at educating parents on current topics such as synthetic drugs, sexting, cyber bullying and the choking game.