NEWS: Coming off Ohio's last-place ranking in 2013, we have 3 predictions for this year's national beaches report.

Last year, a national report ranked Lake Erie beaches last in water quality. Where will they finish this summer? We could find out this week.

Cleveland's lakefront has made a significant step forward since Cleveland Metroparks assumed control of its beaches last year. But challenges to its recreational water quality remain, and that could mean low rankings again when the Natural Resources Defense Council releases its 2014 Testing the Waters beach report.

We'll see what the numbers say when the report is made official, but we can already make three predictions. And we can also put the predictions into perspective.

UPDATE: Storm clean-up, costs, communities, and why a regional #StormwaterProgram is critical

Storm debris clogs the Cuyahoga River under Alexander Road in Valley View May 13, 2014.

Could $20 million in inaccessible funds have helped local communities respond to storm damage following Northeast Ohio's torrential downpour earlier this week?

That's a question we raised here May 13. Communities are facing storm clean-up challenges while $20 million sits frozen in escrow as a result of a September court ruling that the Sewer District does not have the authority to implement a Regional Stormwater Management Program.

Much has happened this week, and we presented an update to our Trustees yesterday. The report and conversation deserves to be highlighted.

After the storm

Throughout the week, Sewer District crews have assessed the storm damage throughout the region. Debris removal and maintenance is estimated to be nearly $1 million, and erosion control and repair costs are estimated to be millions of additional dollars. This is in addition to the existing costs to maintain and repair stormwater infrastructure.

[PICS] After the storm: The regional impacts of a Northeast Ohio storm May 12, 2014nt_051314_r2 from Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District

Under the Regional Stormwater Management Program, the Sewer District would have been mobilized to assist communities and address these problems. Unfortunately, because of litigation, the Sewer District is unable to do anything to fix these issues.

NEWS: Nation's infrastructure grade "improves" to D+, Ohio fares better with C-

Animal House, 1978, Universal Pictures.

Maybe our improved grades will keep us off of double secret probation.

Last week, the American Society of Civil Engineers released its latest Report Card for America's Infrastructure. The nation's 2013 grade came in at a D+, at least slightly higher than its 2009 D- average.

Ohio's infrastructure—airports, dams, education, water/sewer, energy, roads, parks, and railroads—was graded about average: C-.

NEWS: More Americans are drinking water, but better to break the bottled habit

As New York's ban on sugary drinks is on hold, an AP story today reports Americans' latest bottled-drink love affair is with good ol' H2O.

Candice Choi's story in the Denver Post states Americans drink about 44 gallons of soda per year, compared to 58 gallons of water. Since 1998, consumption of bottled water has doubled to make up 21 gallons of that total.

We're all for a tall glass of the clear stuff, but we do encourage you to turn on the tap instead of turning to the twist-off top.

BEACHES: Sewer District partners with NRDC in press conference on beach quality

Villa Angela Beach in Cleveland, Ohio. Photo by Michael Uva.

Updated 2012 06/27—This morning, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) held a 10:00 press conference at the Great Lakes Science Center to release its annual report on national beaches—including several in Greater Cleveland—and the Sewer District has partnered with them at the release event.

You can follow tweets from the conference on our @wallywaterdrop Twitter stream or using hashtag #2012beach

NEWS: Green infrastructure projects will sprout in 2012

As part of its plan to reduce the amount raw sewage entering local waterways, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District submitted its green infrastructure plan [PDF] to the United States Environmental Protection Agency yesterday.

The plan is a component of the Project Clean Lake consent decree signed between the Sewer District and the federal government which details the long-term program for reducing combined sewer overflows into the environment. The $3 billion 25-year program will reduce the total volume of combined sewer overflows from 4.5 billion gallons to 494 million gallons annually. Of the 4.5 billion gallons, 44 million gallons will be reduced through the use of green infrastructure.

The Plain Dealer featured a story on the program and its potential today.

Report on public meetings' turnout provided to Trustees this week

During April and May, six public meetings provided customers opportunities to hear and react to the Sewer District's proposed 2012-2016 rate schedule and new affordability program. More than 490 residents attended, and a summary report will be provided to District Trustees this week.

Sewer District economic impact study available online

Attendees at recent Project Clean Lake public meetings saw several figures regarding job creation and tax revenue during the presentation. These estimates were reported in a September 2010 economic impact study conducted by Cleveland State University's Center for Economic Development. ...

Sewer District releases details of draft consent decree

Today, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District released details of its ongoing negotiations with the Environmental Protection Agency regarding its $3 billion plan to reduce raw sewage discharges to the environment. Known as a consent decree, the draft agreement outlines specific projects and milestones that will reduce those discharges from 4.5 billion gallons annually to 494 million gallons.

15 new species found in Cuyahoga River since '06

Fifteen new species of fish and 31 new species of macroinvertebrates found in the Cuyahoga River in the last three years are signs of increased diversity and improving environmental health. These findings and more are available in the our complete 2009 Cuyahoga River Environmental Monitoring report.

Bond rating upgraded to second-highest possible ranking

Cleveland – On Friday, Oct. 29, 2010, Standard & Poor’s upgraded the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District’s bond rating from AA to AA+. In addition to the S&P upgrade, Moody’s reaffirmed the Sewer District’s prior rating of Aa1.