WASHINGTON (AP) - Washington's sewer and water commission says sewage overflows are down sharply following a 2005 court settlement with federal and state environmental regulators and environmental groups.

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The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission says it is halfway through a 12-year-plan required under the settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Maryland Department of the Environment and four environmental groups.

The sewer commission says that between 2006 and 2010, the amount of sewage escaping from sewer pipes dropped from 985,000 gallons to 68,000. During the same period, sewage overflows at its pumping stations and treatment plants fell from 13.4 million gallons to about a half million gallons.