INFOGRAPHIC: "Will I have to pay a stormwater fee?"

We've seen major traffic on our Stormwater FeeFinder page as customers get a preview of their 2013 charges and credit opportunities associated with our regional stormwater management program.

Some callers and site visitors have asked why their properties are not showing up with a fee summary. The answer is that the property may be outside of our stormwater service area. The graphic below helps to explain the map, legends, who pays the fee, and who will not.

Source: neorsd.org via Wally on Pinterest

THANKS: Two special animals are grrrr-ateful this Thanksgiving

Many of us are thankful for our pets, but this year, we at the Sewer District were glad to contribute to two happy endings that saved the lives of two very special animals.

Jenni, a two-foot-long alligator, and Rosco, a German Shepherd/Rottweiler mix pup, were both rescued by quick actions by Sewer District employees and they are both living happier and healthier lives this Thanksgiving.

NEWS: Sewer District, Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office collaborate on regional firing range

Southerly Wastewater Treatment Center, Cuyahoga Heights

Yesterday, the Board of Trustees for the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District approved a resolution allowing the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office to develop and operate a Regional Law Enforcement Firing Range and Training Facility on Sewer District property. This is a 30-year lease agreement.

STORMWATER: How to apply for credits, and where to find the help you need

A customer named Theresa recently asked our Facebook page if we're planning meetings to discuss stormwater program credit opportunities. The answer is Yes.

Starting next month, we will hold monthly evening meetings at our Administration Building for customers who may need assistance applying for credits, or for anyone with questions about the program. We will also present local sessions if a community requests them.

Theresa also mentioned our fee credit manual. If it's tough flipping through the 60+ page full manual to see what opportunities are best for you, consider starting with the abbreviated Residential overview available as a download here under "Ways to save." http://neorsd.org/stormwater

ARCHIVES: Her name is Peggy.

Who was she?

We posted this image on our Facebook page in 2011 but had no other information on her at the time. No one in our sewer maintenance department could identify her, and little was known about the equipment it appeared she was using.

It became a favorite photo of mine because it conveyed an employee working with both confidence and purpose, perhaps answering a question from a co-worker or member of our communications team. But was she an employee? When was the photo taken? What was she doing? The interest remained, and the questions remained unanswered.

Until yesterday.

UPDATE / #gatorrescue :: Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is Jenni's new home

This two-foot-long American alligator—affectionately named Jenni—was rescued from Big Creek in Cleveland last Thursday. The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo picked her up this morning and will care for her as part of the zoo's outreach program.

See you later, alligator.

"Jenni," the alligator rescued by a Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District crew from Big Creek near Jennings and Harvard Road, has found a new home at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.

The 25-inch-long alligator will be in routine quarantine for 30 days at the Zoo’s Center for Zoological Medicine to assess its condition. When it clears the quarantine period, it will be transferred to the Zoo’s Conservation Education Division, where it will be part of the Zoo’s Conservation Education programs including outreach.

NEWS: @neorsd crew rescues 18" alligator from Big Creek

Today, crews from the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District rescued an alligator from the shallow waters of Big Creek.

A surveyor saw the reptile in the creek near a sewer outfall and alerted Sewer District crews who were conducting maintenance on the agency’s Jennings Road Pump Station. In an effort to revive it, crews placed the animal in a garbage can with warm water. The alligator is about 18 to 24 inches long and its species was not known. The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) has been alerted.

ARCHIVES: A photograph that changed everything

Like rummaging through family photos from a dusty hatbox in the attic, finding a photo in our Sewer District archives can have amazing emotional impacts.

We found this one today.

STORMWATER: Customer letters in the mail, new fee-estimate tool available online

Yesterday, we mailed our first batch of customer letters to share the latest information on our Regional Stormwater Management Program fees that will be assessed starting January 1, 2013.

The personalized letters include an estimate of your property's quarterly fee, as well as phone numbers and links with more information about the program and possible credit opportunities. Over November and December, the mailing of more than 300,000 customers' letters will be staggered to best manage call volumes and minimize wait times.

TAKE A LOOK: If you'd like to see an advance copy of your letter, we have a sample linked on our Regional Stormwater Management Program homepage.

FIND YOUR FEE: While the letters include customers' property-specific fee estimates, you can find your estimate on our new online FeeFinder map tool. Just enter your property address to see your likely quarterly fee.

CONTACT US: Our Customer Service team is available at (216) 881-8247 or AskUs@neorsd.org, or you can reach our Stormwater team at stormwater@neorsd.org. You can also message our Facebook page, or tweet us at @neorsd or @wallywaterdrop for more information.

TWEET: "We're not that bad." And getting better.

Our @WallyWaterdrop came across this tweet from Ohio Problems @Ohio_Probs late yesterday. It's still getting RT'd today. In typical "Only In Cleveland" fashion, even Wally had a chuckle at this, but the sewage issue caught our attention.

While our work can't improve our baseball team's standings or locals' dietary choices, the sewage issue is one we are taking off the #OhioProbs list slowly but surely.