LIST: 3 things to know about yesterday's #StormwaterProgram ruling

1. First things first, we are reviewing the ruling now. 

Since yesterday's decision, a lot needs to happen before the Regional Stormwater Management Program—suspended since September of 2013—gets back up and running. Our priority now is to review the official decision and determine a plan for reorganizing and re-implementing.

2. No fees will be charged until after an official plan is back in place.

Several media outlets yesterday implied that fees (or incorrectly referred to as taxes) were imminent and customers would see them in the near future. That is not the case.

While we had a fee structure in place in 2013, no official tiers have been established for the relaunch, and so you should not expect to see a stormwater fee on your bill until well after we have set a new implementation schedule. We will keep customers informed through traditional media, social media, bill messages and a mailing to all customers as decisions are made.

When the program was halted, we had collected about $20 million (archived story) worth of the fees between January and September of 2013. An early step, as we told cleveland.com yesterday, will be for us to request that those monies be released from escrow so we can begin putting those dollars to work solving immediate stormwater problems.

3. The problems of 2013 still exist, and the solution is still regional. 

Since the program's suspension in 2013, stormwater projects like stream maintenance to reduce flooding and erosion were put on hold. In some cases, stormwater problems have become worse.

The same logic for a regional program back then remains applicable today. Stream problems that cross community boundaries can not always be addressed within a single municipality's limits, which is why we advocated for—and the Court agreed we have the authority to manage—a regional solution.

As we move forward now with full approval from the Ohio Supreme Court, our mission remains the same: Keep our Great Lake great.

What questions do you have? Post them here, or tweet or message us so we can be sure to add them to a frequently asked questions post in the near future.

PROFILE: Sewer crew goes all MacGyver, solving a clog with hose, fishing line, remote-controlled drone

What could a sewer maintenance crew possibly be doing with a drone, fishing wire, machetes, and 600 feet of rubber tubing?

Add a roll of duct tape and cue the MacGyver theme? You could say so. But the reality is they were clearing a sewer blockage with a little ingenuity.

GATOR: February 9 was Alligators in the Sewers Day. We did not know this.

Chickasaw, formerly known as Jenni, rescued from Big Creek by our crews in 2012. Photo by George Uhl.

Blogosphere, we have let you down.

Apparently, February 9 was Alligators in the Sewers Day and we had no idea. For this, we're sorry.

The declaration was made five years ago to commemorate the 1935 sighting of an alligator in the sewers of Harlem, New York.

In 2012, one of our crews had a similar experience as they rescued an 18-inch alligator from the chilly waters of Big Creek in Cleveland. It was no urban legend, no unconfirmed reports, but an actual alligator. The gator, now named Chickasaw, has been in the care of Cleveland Metroparks Zoo ever since where she has been an important part of their outreach and education efforts.

Largely, alligators in sewers survives only as urban legend. Should we see any creatures of such zoological significance in our tunnels underground, we'll be quick to let you know.

Consider this date marked on our calendars moving forward.

Here's Newschannel 5's story from the day:

CAREERS: Training, development opportunities give employees a chance to grow and improve

One of the advantages to working at the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District is the opportunity to advance one’s career. The District offers two training programs for careers in Maintenance and Wastewater Plant Operation—through which District employees develop their proficiencies and reach their disciplines.

Maintenance Training has four different tracks for those pursuing a vocation as an Instrumentation Technician, Plant Maintenance Electrician, Systems Utility Maintenance Person, or Plant Utilities Maintenance Person at the Sewer District.

RELATED: This story is a Web Extra featured in our Clean Water Works technical journal (Fall 2014)

Interested employees enroll in a hands-on Talent Assessment Program (based on Automotive Manufacturing Technical Education Collaborative, or AMTEC standards) to determine their technical knowledge. Those who achieve a composite score of 75 or better qualify for the Maintenance Training program.

Successful applicants embark on a training regimen that includes 800 classroom hours (an equivalent of between 38 and 52 semester hours) of coursework provided by Cuyahoga Community College onsite at a District facility, plus 8,000 hours of on-the-job instruction over the course of four years, followed by  ongoing professional training that continuously enhance one’s skill set.

PIC: And now, just your average sewer blockage longer than a Boeing 747.

Next time you consider flushing wipes or washing cooking grease down your drain, consider you might be contributing to a Boeing 747-size sewer blockage under your city.

It happened in the UK where Thames Water recently spent four days clearing a 262-foot blockage of fat, grease, and disposable wipes from a local sewer. That's more than 20 feet longer than an average Boeing 747 jet.

Our maintenance crews have seen crazy stuff, but never anything close to a mass of this magnitude. Still, the key contributing factors—disposable wipes and cooking grease—are among our top 15 items you shouldn't flush. Just because it can fit down your drain doesn't mean it belongs there.

We say, "Don't use your toilet as a garbage can." In London, they say, "Bin it, don't block it." Even across the pond, sewer smarts are a universal language.

VIDEO: "Police of the underworld," Vienna's sewer brigade of 1934

The city of Vienna once had a police squad specifically trained for sewer patrols.

This 1934 British newsreel showcases the "canal brigade" of Vienna, Austria, braving the bowels of the city, a common hiding place for criminals at the time.



Most interesting to us was the squad's frequency of finding "tramps," men who would walk the murky tunnels in search of coins and trinkets citizens would lose down the drain. But rather than arresting them or escorting them out, they were merely searched and regularly permitted to carry on.

...All being well, they are allowed to proceed with their very exclusive occupation.

ENTERTAINMENT: #Watermen series will take reality TV to a new low, and it looks filthy.

Reality television is about to hit a new low: Sewers, and the team who keeps things flowing.

United Utilities—one of the UK's largest water and wastewater service providers—will star in a six-part documentary series called "Watermen: A dirty business" on BBC2 starting today.

WATCH: Do you see what we see? Sewer maintenance and video inspections

How do we get a closer look at problems in our sewers? One way is using a video rig and camera like this. This is a demonstration set-up so our Open House visitors can see the camera and its maneuverability in action.

Lights. Camera. Action.

Video cameras are important tools of the trade when it comes to our Sewer System Maintenance & Operation team. They help locate problems and verify solutions in hard-to-reach areas underground.

In this video from our YouTube archives, our sewer maintenance crews clear a local sewer blockage and then use a remote-controlled video camera to inspect the job. Josiah tells us a little about it.

UPDATE: Photos tell the story of Pepper Pike restoration following July 20 tornado

Storm debris removed from Pepper Creek following July 20 tornado.
All photos courtesy Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District.

What could have amounted to months of storm clean-up for the city of Pepper Pike became a collaborative stormwater-program success story in less than two weeks.

On July 20, a tornado touched down in Pepper Pike causing extensive damage to the gymnasium at Ursuline College. In addition to wind damage, rainfall that peaked at almost one inch of rain in 15 minutes caused major debris blockages along Pepper Creek in the early morning hours.

City and District officials worked together following the storm to clear debris and restore damaged streams, examples of the first storm-response efforts of the Sewer District's Regional Stormwater Management Program.

EVENT: Our trucks suck, and that's how we like them.

These crews have the suckiest jobs on our team. At least the suckiest trucks.

When it comes to sewer blockages and cleanouts, our Sewer System Maintenance and Operation crews use these huge vacuum trucks—called jet vacs—to get the job done.

You may have seen ones like it around your neighborhood or even at our Open House if you've been there before, but you'll have another chance this Sunday to see one up close. Our team will have one at the YMCA Healthy Kids Day April 7 at Quicken Loans Arena.

So stop by the fire trucks, safety equipment, and more from Cleveland Public Safety and friends, and be sure to head over to the jet vacs for some good clean fun with the crews that have a very dirty job.

PHOTO: Salty sewers? Winter's residue builds up beneath the streets

Snow on the roads this morning makes traveling treacherous, but what's going on below the surface?

Our Sewer System Maintenance and Operation crews inspect sewers all year round, and during periods of road salting and deicing, the calcium deposits in sewers can build up quickly. In the above photo from 2009, calcium build-up in this sewer—along I-490 near West 17th Street, an area we inspected upon request—posed a big risk for potential blockages and back-ups.

Our crews remove these deposits, and preventative-maintenance schedules allow us to routinely inspect problem areas to manage them throughout the winter. A deposit of this size is very rare.

If salt deposits are affecting the flow in sewers, it's also affecting the water quality reaching our treatment plants. Our plant operators know what to expect and adjust our treatment processes accordingly during the winter season.

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.

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.

PHOTO: Weather monitor will track Villa Angela trends

Wind speed, rainfall, wave height, temperature and more data will be collected soon using a new weather-monitoring station being installed at Wildwood Marina in Cleveland.

UPDATE: Sewer maintenance crew at work

Water flows downhill, but sometimes gravity needs a little help.