Southerly treatment plant running, fully treating 3x normal daily flow

Although the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District’s Southerly Wastewater Treatment Plant was impacted earlier today by flooding, the WWTP continued to treat wastewater throughout the morning. The WWTP is currently providing full treatment at a rate of 360 million gallons per day (mgd) and providing partial treatment to at a rate of 160-180 mgd. This treatment plant is currently operating at more than 300 percent; the average daily flow is 125 mgd.

Southerly wastewater treatment plant flooded by storm, snow melt

The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District’s Southerly Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) is experiencing flooding and is limited in its capabilities to treat wastewater entering the plant. This morning’s flooding was caused by heavy rains compounded by snow melt and already-saturated grounds.

Stormwater vs. overflow control: What's the difference?

Last year was marked by distinct discussions about stormwater and combined sewers and the problem each is causing across Northeast Ohio. The Sewer District developed detailed programs to address each issue, but there is understandable confusion about the programs and their impacts: Don't both programs deal with stormwater? Don't both programs have an impact on flooding problems? After the jump, we outlined a helpful overview of the two separate programs, their separate costs, their goals, and where they stand today.

Treatment plant performance was top-notch in 2010

Greg Glover, Victor Chan, and Gerald Borling check the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) to monitor phosphorous levels in the wastewater.

In 2010, each of the District’s treatment plants achieved 100% compliance with its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits. It was the first year since 1999 that all three plants had zero permit excursions.

We love clean water.

"Rock-eating" machine to bore 24' diameter tunnel 200' underground

The Cleveland Plain Dealer featured a story this weekend about the Sewer District's $198 million Euclid Creek Tunnel (ECT) project, a component of its Project Clean Lake program. The 18,000-foot long tunnel will be burrowed up to 220 feet underground using a tunnel boring machine. This video demonstrates how these colossal machines work.