Drain the swamp, eh?

#HumanWaste backing up in basements is a gut-churning sign of US infrastructure problems

By MICHAEL PHILLIS and M.K. WILDEMAN
March 10, 2026

#WashingtonDC (AP) — "The January collapse of a pipe as wide as a car dumped so much sewage into the #PotomacRiver that officials tracked a spike of gut-wrenching bacteria drifting slowly past Washington for weeks, prompting an emergency declaration and federal assistance."

[...]

"President Donald #Trump called state and local leaders 'incompetent' over the spill, but some experts say his administration’s funding cuts are adding to the national problem."

Read more:
https://apnews.com/article/sewage-overflows-potomac-epa-water-trump-baltimore-be71eea20324a911142e1d0dfe627fa4

#USPol #TrumpSucks #TrumpIsFullOfShit #WashingtonDCIsFullOfShit

Potomac River sewage spill after January pipe collapse raises worries past DC

A major sewer pipe collapse has dumped hundreds of millions of gallons of sewage into the Potomac River, highlighting a nationwide problem involving failing infrastructure. The Potomac spill was a huge, but rare event that led to an emergency declaration and federal help. But across the country, sewer overflows happen tens of thousands of times each year. Baltimore shows how bad persistent problems can be. People regularly experience sewage backups into their homes, ruining property and bringing in harmful bacteria. The EPA says there is more than $600 billion is needed for flooding and clean water needs over the next two decades. The Trump administration has cut some funding for the work.

AP News

Woman preparing to gather 'night soil' (human waste) for agriculture, Fuzhou, China, ~1871

https://piefed.social/c/historyphotos/p/1799974/woman-preparing-to-gather-night-soil-human-waste-for-agriculture-fuzhou-china-1871

OnlineFirst - "Historicising sanitation work: Value, infrastructural labour and representation in colonial Bengal" by Sally Cawood and Pratik Mishra:

#humanwaste #caste #colonialarchive #value #infrastructurallabour #nightsoil #Bengal

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/25148486251400183

🗽💀 Suffocation – Reincremation
💿 Album : Human Waste
⏱️ Durée : 2:54
🎧 #Suffocation #Reincremation #HumanWaste #NewYork #SlamDeathMetal #TechnicalDeathMetal #LongIslandDeathMetal #NYDM #NowPlaying

Good thing I have NO PLANS to go to the beach any time soon... Ugh! 🤢

Taking a dip #LaborDay weekend? Swimmers face fecal contamination at beaches along US coastline

By PATRICK WHITTLE and MINGSON LAU
Updated 10:15 AM EDT, August 30, 2025

OGUNQUIT, Maine (AP) — "Thousands of Americans will head to beaches for one last summer splash this Labor Day weekend, but taking a dip might be out of the question: Many of the beaches will caution against swimming because of unsafe levels of fecal contamination.

"Beaches from #CrystalRiverFL, to #OgunquitME, have been under advisories warning about water quality this week because of elevated levels of bacteria associated with fecal waste. The advisories typically discourage beachgoers from going in the water because the bacteria can cause gastrointestinal illness, rashes and nausea.

"There have been closures this week at some of the country’s most popular beach destinations, including Keyes Memorial Beach in the #CapeCod village of Hyannis in Barnstable, Massachusetts; Benjamin’s Beach on #LongIsland in Bay Shore, New York; and a portion of the Imperial Beach shoreline near #SanDiego. Even on the pristine, white sand beaches of Hawaii, the Hawaii State Department of Health is warning of a high bacteria count at #KahaluuBeachPark on the #BigIsland.

"It’s a longstanding and widespread problem. Nearly two-thirds of beaches tested nationwide in 2024 experienced at least one day in which indicators of fecal contamination reached potentially unsafe levels, conservation group Environment America said in a report issued this summer.
"The group reviewed beaches on the coasts and #GreatLakes and found that 84% of #GulfCoast beaches exceeded the standard at least once. The number was 79% for #WestCoast beaches, 54% for #EastCoast beaches and 71% for #GreatLakes beaches.

"The report also said more than 450 beaches were potentially unsafe for swimming on at least 25 percent of the days tested. A key reason is outdated water and #SewerSystems that allows contamination from #sewage to reach the places where people swim, said John Rumpler, clean water director and senior attorney with #EnvironmentAmerica.

" 'These beaches are a treasure for families across New England and across the country. They are a shared resource,' said Rumpler, who is based in Boston. 'We need to make the investment to make sure that literally our own #HumanWaste doesn’t wind up in the places where we are swimming.'

"Other factors have also played a role in contaminating beaches, including increasingly #SevereWeather that overwhelms sewage systems, and suburban sprawl that paves over natural areas and reduces the #ecosystem’s ability to absorb #stormwater, Rumpler said."

https://apnews.com/article/beaches-labor-day-fecal-swimming-b0141df7f40ad2914d4e2cd31182e9af

#OceansAreLife #WaterIsLife #WaterContamination #Sewage #Pollution #HumanWaste

America's beach lovers contend with fecal contamination warnings on Labor Day weekend

Thousands of Americans will head to beaches for one last summer splash this Labor Day weekend, and many of them will arrive at beaches where swimming is not advised because of unsafe levels of fecal contamination. Beaches from Crystal River, Florida, to Ogunquit, Maine, were under water quality advisories this week because of elevated levels of bacteria associated with fecal waste. The advisories typically discourage beachgoers from going in the water because the bacteria can cause symptoms including gastrointestinal illness, rashes and nausea. Conservation group Environment America says nearly two-thirds of America's beaches experienced at least one day in 2024 in which indicators of fecal contamination reached potentially unsafe levels.

AP News

#Biochar from #HumanWaste could solve global #fertiliser shortages, study finds | #Agriculture | The Guardian

In the words of Blackadder, “You’ll be pleased to know there’s an inexhaustible supply of the stuff.”

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/aug/11/biochar-from-human-waste-could-solve-global-fertiliser-shortages-study-finds

#Environment #Farming #Charcoal #Conservation

Biochar from human waste could solve global fertiliser shortages, study finds

Excrement contains nutrients needed for crop growth and a new source of them could cut farming’s huge CO2 output

The Guardian

@skinnylatte @minmi

So who needs *actual* public toilets?

Each study, no matter which city it was from, concluded that actual #PublicToilets are used overwhelmingly by:
- a #parent/ #caregiver with young #children (often using baby strollers)
- #elderly people
- #disabled people
- #unhoused people

… and since basically no one gives much of a rip about the last three on that list, ESPECIALLY unhoused people, there is little political will to ensure #accessible public #toilets are a priority.

A critical point made most clear by #Calgary's #yyc report (complete with maps and photos of site incidents!) is that #HumanWaste is a #biohazard #HazardousWaste, as human diseases can easily pass to others by #feces.

TL;DR: Alas, withholding development of #facilities and #services that would benefit all people in a community, including unhoused people, is a common policy program driven by political optics. And it stinks. 😡

#accessibility
#washrooms
#bathrooms
#Canada

@skinnylatte @minmi

I did a research paper some years' back wrt fearmongering by anti-#trans activists.

(At the time, much of that was coming out of the USA and being copied word-for-word by the same sort of activists in #Canada -- which was always surreal as not only was terminology NOT typical for Canadian usage, but the very laws themselves were absolutely NOT what were being claimed.)

In any case, I discovered through this that many Canadian cities had done #WashroomStudies wrt #PublicToilets.

They were a fascinating read: most folks think there are far more than in reality because the toilets they use when out and about are open to the public *in businesses*. Assuming they're not preventing unhoused people from access, they're still not avail 24/7.

Also: folks assume tourists need them, but generally tourists have the means to go to restaurants, etc and also use those toilets, plus they are housed at hotels, etc.

1/2

#accessibility
#HumanWaste
#washrooms
#bathrooms

what will archeologists find in the sediments of our time? my brother takes strolls with a metal detector from time to time. this is what we found in a dry river bed last autumn

#anthropocene #archeology #futurehistory #humanwaste #decay #metalwaste #geotector #treasure #metaldetector #tresurehunting #underground #fintiflushka #diemelsee