RiverLink invites community to tour MSD wastewater treatment plant

After millions of gallons of raw sewage spilled into the French Broad River last week, RiverLink saw an educational opportunity surface. The nonprofit will host a tour of MSD’s wastewater treatment plant June 4 at 10 a.m. (Pictured: French Broad River Academy students visit the RiverLink office to learn about the urban water cycle, the focus of the upcoming tour. (Photo courtesy of RiverLink)

MSD gives itself high marks in its 2011 performanc­e report

Every day, the Municipal Sewerage District collects and treats — and discharges into the French Broad — an average of 18 million gallons of wastewater, relying on millions of microbes to do what they’ve been doing since the Earth was young: consume organic waste. And every year, the Clean Water Act requires the utility to provide an assessment of how well they’re doing. That report was submitted to DENR August 30; let’s take a look.