STORMWATER: "Rain delay sponsored by the Sewer District?"

Weather could be questionable for this weekend's Cleveland Indians games, so if you're tuned in to watch the Tribe play on SportsTime Ohio, you could see a "rain delay" graphic brought to you by the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District.

It has nothing to do with the play on the field, but it has everything to do with stormwater.

EVENTS: Are you a "water quality innovator?" Make your pitch with $5,000 on the line.

Best practices and prize money? The Alliance for Water Future sure knows how to host an event or two.

The Alliance for Water Future will hold two summer events focused on stormwater management and "water quality innovation" to help share knowledge of freshwater issues in our region. The Sewer District is a founding partner of the Alliance's work.

Here are the details:

Stormwater 101: Business to Business
Thursday, June 27, 1:30-7:00 p.m. at Great Lakes Science Center
This stormwater-focused business-to-business learning event and networking session is geared toward companies in the business of stormwater services. It will present best practices to businesses and organizations looking for onsite stormwater solutions. You can find a full agenda on the Alliance's Facebook event page.''

Alliance PitcH2O
Thursday, July 11, 6:00-9:00 p.m. at SmartShape Design
The Alliance will recognize and honor “breakthrough innovations” that have demonstrated dramatic impact on our water quality through either a new and innovative technology or best practice, and $5,000 is on the line. The Alliance has partnered with the Burning River Foundation to award a $5,000 prize to the top innovator in water quality.

Nominations are due by June 10, and all are invited to nominate, present, and attend. Details and forms are posted on the Alliance's Facebook event page.

UPDATE: Our little girl is growing up, rescued gator is hearty and healthy

Jenni didn't change her number, but she did change her name.

The 18-inch alligator our sewer maintenance crews rescued from Big Creek near Jennings Road in Cleveland last November has been living comfortably with Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, and one of her rescuers got to visit her recently.

LIST: 7 reasons Captain America and Hollywood would love seeing a wastewater treatment plant, you know, like ours

If Captain America and Nick Fury need to adjust their Cleveland filming schedules anticipating rain this week and are suddenly faced with time to kill—I mean geez how much time can one spend in a commissary tent?—I'm just going to put this out there:

We'd be happy to welcome them on a plant tour.

I know, I know, these guys are busy, but hey, Hollywood might even find inspiration for a future flick around facilities like ours. With three treatment plants a short drive from downtown Cleveland, there's plenty to see. Afterall, this work is what keeps our Great Lake ready for its cameo, right?

Here are seven superhero-worthy attractions our clean-water infrastructure and employees would have to offer.

BEACHES: Holiday weekend means beach season is back, daily water-quality testing to resume

Local beaches will be flowing with activity this summer, above and beyond the dog-paddling of local swimmers.

On Monday, May 20, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District resumed daily testing at Edgewater, Villa Angela, and Euclid beaches to determine water quality as we prepare for the start of beach season Memorial Day weekend.

There are very few agencies across the US that test recreational beach water quality this frequently, and the results help us better predict factors that affect beach conditions at two very popular Cleveland summer cool-down destinations.

Understanding the variables and testing frequency

Many variables can impact the water quality of the beaches: the presence of water fowl, the influence of Lake Erie currents, the fate of pollutants—like raw sewage—discharged into local water bodies following heavy storms, or stormwater runoff which can carry motor oil, garbage and other pollutants, as well.

"The Sewer District is one of the few agencies in the nation that monitors local water quality on a daily basis," said Sewer District Manager of Analytical Services Mark Citriglia. "Over the years, we’ve significantly enhanced our research at two local beaches—Euclid and Villa Angela—which, historically, have been prone to high bacteria levels, exceeding EPA standards."

LIST: Wait, people thought Cleveland was bad?

"16 reasons Cleveland is not as bad as you think"? We guess 16 is a fine place to start, but the list could go on and on, and there are a few glaring omissions.

This week, Buzzfeed posted a fun piece with that title, noting examples like Charles Ramsey's heroics, our Millionaire's Row past, homegrown celebs, and 21,000 acres of glorious Cleveland Metroparks.

Plus the Hollywood attention we're getting over the next two months.

All great examples, believe us, but there could have been at least these three others.

INFOGRAPHIC: Wow, he must have left a Tyrannosaurus mess. #DinoDoo and @clemetzoo's Dinosaurs! exhibit

Sure, we have a Pick Up Poop! campaign for your dog, but you'd need a whooooole lot of baggies for droppings this big.

We're excited about our latest educational partnership with the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and their new Dinosaurs! exhibit that opened last week. And the graphic below is just a part of the outreach we're using to make some of the connections between these thunder lizards' business and ours.

While we love telling fun stories about wastewater treatment and the environment to educate our customers, we love connecting our work to already interesting topics even more. This exhibit is an example of that. Thanks, @clemetzoo. And here's our infographic:

PUP: #DogsCantFlush, but they need more help than that.

Meet Hank. He's a #blueheeler... Same color as me! Want to help @clevelandapl help PUPs? 216.566.PETS. #DogsCantFlush twitter.com/wallywaterdrop…
— Spokesdrop, NEORSD (@wallywaterdrop) May 10, 2013

A group of Sewer District volunteers are taking calls at Q104's and Cleveland APL's Pledge For Pets Radiothon today, an event we've supported for several years in connection with our Pick Up Poop! (PUP) campaign.

But what's the partnership all about?

LIST: 7 things mom said that showed she knew a thing or two about wastewater treatment (without even knowing it!)

There are words, phrases, or intonations we hear that instantly harken us back to our mothers, grandmothers, aunts, or other influential women in our lives. This Mother's Day, we're looking at some of the most common mom-isms and seeing a very distinctive connection to our industry.

Moms know what they're talking about.

#DogsCantFlush sweepstakes: PUP Stuff prize pack up for grabs, enter by 5/13

Let your friends know that picking up doo is the right thing to do.

We're supporting the Q104/Cleveland Animal Protective League Pledge For Pets Radiothon this Friday, and we want to share the love of our Pick Up Poop! (PUP) campaign with you.

Just subscribe to our email list below and you'll be entered to win a PUP Stuff Prize Pack, including some of our most popular PUP items, along with a limited-edition T-shirt shown here, and two keychain pet-waste bag dispensers. PLEASE NOTE: THIS SWEEPSTAKES HAS CONCLUDED :( BUT YOU CAN STILL JOIN OUR MAIL LIST :)

Our PUP program promotes water quality and common courtesy. You can request some of our PUP materials on our official dogscantflush.org page.

The contest has ended, but you can still join the mail list!

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VIDEO: Not your average daily commute, WKYC visits our construction project 200 feet underground

Many Americans take the train or ride an elevator to work. These, however, are a bit more unconventional.

WKYC's Chris Tye visited our Euclid Creek Tunnel shaft site at Nine Mile Creek last week, and Bob Auber, Doug Gabriel, and Kellie Rotunno took him on a journey few people ever get to make as he visited our tunnel boring machine at work hundreds of feet underground.




The Euclid Creek Tunnel is an 18,000-foot-long 24-foot-wide sewer tunnel being constructed 200 feet under Cleveland. This is just one of several huge projects that are part of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District's 25-year Project Clean Lake program intended to reduce pollution in Lake Erie.

You can follow our Mackenzie on Twitter, too:

Home videos from last year. Looks like @wallywaterdrop was playing with iMovie again. youtu.be/q2nk2-tdJ_0 #neorsdECT

— Mackenzie (@MackenzieTBM) May 1, 2013