Ouch - a bit of sewage with your water?

Being President of our local Water Board, I have come to learn a lot about public water and sewage systems. Fascinating topic actually! I am glad I am not James Barber. From the Seattle Post Intelligencer:

Sewage-dumping Rainier worker pleads guilty
A treatment plant operator accused of dumping 200,000 of raw sewage into a stream at Mount Rainier National Park has pleaded guilty.

Pleading guilty Friday to a misdemeanor charge, James Barber admitted he in August 2011 rerouted minimally treated sewage from a treatment plant near Paradise into the Nisqually River.

According to charging documents, Barber failed to conduct basic maintenance at the treatment plant, which serves an inn and visitors center.

And of course, Barber immediately notified authorities:

Writing the court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Diggs contended Barber�s �gross mismanagement� of the facility created the crisis. Diggs also claimed Barber attempted to hide his misdeed.

�James Barber did not notify anyone that he had bypassed the treatment plant, did not sample the bypassed waste, and did not record the bypass and discharge of the minimally treated sewage in the log books for the treatment plant,� Diggs told the court. �Instead, he left for several days off from work, informing none of his colleagues or supervisors about the bypass of waste.�

Talk about a classic CLM