EVENTS: #SewerU May 17, special tech tour May 18 to mark Infrastructure Week

Infrastructure Week shines a spotlight on the often-overlooked systems that help make daily life function. Two special events in May will cast that light in two colors: Green and gray.

We are excited to host our fourth Sewer University #SewerU Wednesday, May 17 at the Cleveland Metroparks Watershed Stewardship Center at West Creek, and our first-ever Tech Tour of our Westerly Wastewater Treatment Center in Cleveland Thursday, May 18.

Both events will be hosted during Infrastructure Week, a national education and awareness campaign, May 15-19, 2017.

Sewer University: Green infrastructure edition
Wednesday, May 17 | Register today
Cleveland Metroparks Watershed Stewardship Center at West Creek

SewerU is an introductory-level two-hour course sharing the history and future of clean water in the Cleveland area. This session will shift the focus to green infrastructure and how the Sewer District is implementing and evaluating GI opportunities on recent, current, and upcoming projects.

Tech Tour: Westerly Wastewater Treatment Center
Thursday, May 18 | Register today
5800 West Memorial Shoreway, Cleveland

Public tours of our facilities are often bird's-eye-view glimpses at the work involved in keeping our Great Lake great. But this special Tech Tour event will be a behind-the-scenes down-and-dirty technical analysis of the treatment process. You'll see the gray infrastructure that keeps flow moving and the biological systems that ensure water is treated safely. You'll never look at your toilet the same way again. Space is limited to 12 participants!

EVENT: Pitch those pills on April 22 when you visit EarthFest

Spring has sprung and of course with a change in weather comes time for spring cleaning. In addition to squeegeeing windows and deep-cleaning carpets, you also need to take some time and “spring clean” your medicine cabinet.

Chances are, your medicine cabinet is filled with expired or unused prescription and non-prescription medications including pills, blister packs, creams and inhalers. As a parent, you likely have medications your children have outgrown.

Medical professionals used to recommend disposing of unwanted medications by flushing it down the toilet or rinsing it down the drain. But wastewater treatment plants are not designed to remove these medicines from wastewater, so they may pass through the treatment process unchanged. When the treated water is released into the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie, it can still contain traces of these medicines.

The Sewer District makes it easy to #PitchThosePills and safely dispose of unwanted medications on April 22. We are partnering with EarthFest at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds and will offer a Pitch Those Pills drive-by drop-off immediately outside the event’s main entrance.

Pitch Those Pills at EarthFest
Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds
Saturday, April 22
10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
No admission required! Drive by and drop off!

We will accept pills, capsules, blister packs, creams, ointments, inhalers and unused sharps (needles). We cannot accept used sharps.

If you are unable to attend this pharmaceutical collection, there are also ways to safely dispose of medications at home or other safe drop-offs. While some pharmacies may collect unused or outdated pharmaceuticals, you may choose to dispose of them at home, but keep the following tips in mind to protect your children or pets.

• Steps should be taken to make it difficult for any person or animal to unintentionally ingest the medicine. Keep it in its original packaging. (These containers are often childproof and the labels may contain necessary information.) Use a marker to black out personal information.
• Make pills unusable by crushing and dissolving them with a small amount of water. Absorb liquid medication with flour, table salt, or sawdust.
• Secure any packaging with strong tape. Seal the package or dissolved liquid medication inside a non-recyclable, non-transparent container. Place this in with your household trash.

From the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District's A healthy environment starts at home handbook.