NOTICE: Water quality advisory posted at Edgewater as a result of early morning storm, overflow

This morning, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District posted a public advisory at Edgewater Beach, a result of a combined sewer overflow (CSO) event which discharged raw sewage into Lake Erie during this morning’s heavy rain storm.

Visitors—particularly children, the elderly and those in ill health—are advised to avoid contact with the water and debris.

“Edgewater is yet another example of why we need to continue to be aggressive in investing in our sewer infrastructure, particularly if want to continue to capitalize on the good work of the Cleveland Metroparks and those who are developing along the lakefront,” said Sewer District Chief Executive Officer Julius Ciaccia recently.

“Otherwise, to ignore the problems, like combined sewer overflows, stormwater run-off, failing septic systems, and illicit connections of sanitary sewage to storm sewers, that plague our local waterways would be irresponsible, and would squander the past investments made to keep our Great Lake great.”

Since 1972, the Sewer District has reduced the volume of CSO by half—from 9 billion gallons to 4.5 billion gallons—and continues efforts to reduce CSO from entering local waterways. The Sewer District has $3 billion plan—Project Clean Lake—which will further reduce overflows from 4.5 billion gallons to 500 million gallons by 2036 through the construction of large-scale storage tunnels, green infrastructure, and wastewater treatment plant upgrades.

EVENT: Go underground and behind the scenes as we #FollowTheFlow during Infrastructure Week May 11

"Go with the flow" has a meaning of its own. "Follow the flow" is going to get a little more interesting.

May 11-15 marks the third year for Infrastructure Week, a national celebration of country’s infrastructure systems and the essential role they play in our economy. To celebrate Infrastructure Week 2015, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District is planning a week-long series of behind-the-scenes tours for local media and elected officials, and you can #FollowTheFlow with the Sewer District all Infrastructure Week long and trace wastewater’s path from the sewer system to Lake Erie.

Here's what we're planning and we'll be covering it all week long on Twitter, Instagram and Periscope.

ALGAE: In wake of Toledo's algae woes, investigation takes deeper look at causes, solutions (Video)

Is the toxic algae that led to Toledo's three-day "DO NOT DRINK" declaration this summer a threat to Cleveland in the future?

While Cleveland's lake conditions differ from those of the western Lake Erie basin, when our Great Lake is threatened, all of its neighbors need to take notice.

This week, Fox 8 News' I-TEAM ran a two-part series focused on the toxic algae bloom that led to Toledo's water ban in August, asking questions about the decisions made, the testing methods employed, and future work being considered to keep our lake and the surrounding residents safe. The videos and their complete reports are linked below.

NEWS: Green commitment in Cleveland's Public Square renovation improves drainage, manages stormwater

UPDATE 2015 03/09: It all begins today. Roads closed officially at 6:00 a.m. this morning. This story took a closer look at some of the green-infrastructure components of the work that will take shape under and on the surface of the Cleveland Public Square renovation scheduled for completion in 2016.

On October 2, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District Trustees approved a $3 million installment grant for the Public Square Renovation Project, a contribution that will increase the square's greenspace and sustainability.

"Public Square is the heart of Downtown Cleveland," said Julius Ciaccia, Executive Director of the Sewer District. "We’re excited to be able to connect our clean water work to the makeover of this historic, popular and heavily traveled area."

NEWS: "Do not drink" water order in Toledo, surrounding communities is a sobering call to action

Early Saturday morning, Lucas County issued an alarming "Do not drink the water" alert affecting 19 communities and more than 400,000 residents. The directive is due to exceedingly high levels of microcystin, a toxin produced by toxic algae blooms.

While the alert is outside of our and Cleveland Division of Water's service areas, the action is related to events that affect many of our customers in Northeast Ohio, and the relationship is worth noting.

Toledo's news is a tragic example of the importance of protecting our water resources, particularly Lake Erie.

VIDEO: Broken water main floods UCLA campus with 10 million gallons of water

When a 90+ year old water main broke under the campus of UCLA yesterday afternoon, spewing up to 10 million gallons of water in the air and down streets like waterfalls, it looked like this.



USA Today reported that in some places, up to seven feet (!) of water was being diverted into storm drains, which would drain to nearby waterways carrying any surface pollutants along with it.

Had something like this happened in a combined sewer community, where stormwater and sewage flow in the same pipe—like in Cleveland—it would have inundated treatment plants (treating a majority of it) and risked overflowing into the environment.

To think that all of this water and wastewater is flowing under your feet in pipes deep underground at any given time, typically without any thought from residents on the surface, is simply amazing.

NOTICE: Heavy storms trigger swimming advisory at Edgewater Beach

Water quality sampling at three local beaches.

June 24 storms cause Edgewater combined sewer outfall to discharge raw sewage into Lake Erie

Today, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District posted a public advisory at Edgewater Beach as a result of a combined sewer overflow (CSO) event at Edgewater, which discharged raw sewage into Lake Erie during last night’s heavy storm.

Visitors—particularly children, the elderly and those in ill health—are advised to avoid contact with the water and debris for the next 48 hours.

"Last night’s overflow at Edgewater is yet another example of why we need to continue to be aggressive in investing in our sewer infrastructure," said Julius Ciaccia, Sewer District Executive Director, "particularly if want to continue to capitalize on the good work of the Cleveland Metroparks and those who are developing along the lakefront."

VIDEO: No, we do want you to see what we allegedly don't want you to see.

What was recorded and posted to YouTube in the style of an exposé is actually a great educational resource to better understand pollution sources and their impacts on Lake Erie.

YouTube user pmc291 recently posted this video to our Facebook page under a very ominous title, "NORSD NOT WHAT THEY WANT YOU TO SEE." It shows pollution along one of Cleveland's beaches near our Easterly Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Known as White City Beach, this area has suffered from several pollution sources for many years: Combined sewer overflows, storm sewers, sanitary sewer overflows, and storm debris. Each one deserves a few words about future clean-up efforts.

BASEBALL: Drain delay as sewer backups, storms at Oakland Coliseum wash out exhibition game

Image via anywheresports.com

Maybe they should move the tarp from the field in Oakland into the clubhouse bathrooms.

In an endless flow of opportunities to connect clean-water news to current events, today we take you to Oakland, California where the Cleveland Indians will open the 2014 season against the Oakland A's tonight.

Oakland Coliseum plumbing has affected the home clubhouse in the past, and it happened again this weekend as toilets and drains backed up before an exhibition game against the San Francisco Giants. One of the A's coaches caught it on video.



The backups occurred as a result of heavy rains, as reported by USA Today, streaming water into the facility where it shouldn't be.

Behind diamond seats at oakland coliseum #a's #sfgiants pic.twitter.com/YKirqLuXDl
— Scott Ostler (@scottostler) March 29, 2014

While not exactly the same, it sounds similar to the situation older cities face thanks to combined sewers—large pipes that collect sewage and stormwater in the same pipe.

In heavy rains, combined sewers reach capacity and have to find relief points, and in Cleveland, those relief points are called combined sewer overflows. We have a 25-year plan underway that will increase the sewer system's storage and treatment capacity to eliminate the need for overflows, which—to maintain the sports analogy—is a winning game plan.

There could be a number of reasons why the Coliseum's plumbing couldn't handle the flow, but the story lends truth to the belief that "sports is a microcosm of life." At least this sports headline is a microcosm of the country's infrastructure issues.

Thanks for sharing, Emily.

#neorsdGREEN: 4 cities making green part of the plan, and we're one of them.

As the country has turned its attention to green solutions to infrastructure challenges in recent years, there are cities and regions whose green work is already underway and blazing a trail others can follow.

In a new document released by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Northeast Ohio is one of them.

San Francisco, Toledo, Cincinnati, and the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District are four agencies who have incorporated green into their combined sewer overflow (CSO) control plans, and our efforts were highlighted as an example other cities might consider when planning to solve similar problems.

Greening CSO Plans: Planning and Modeling Green Infrastructure for Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Control (v...

VIDEO: This guy kayaks into a DC sewer tunnel. It's educational, but don't try it at home.

This 8-minute video by EarthEcho International—featuring underground construction and a kayaking expedition into the bowels of a combined sewer—highlights the water-quality challenges of Washington, DC and what DC Water is doing about it.

Why is it relevant to Cleveland? It's a tale that reflects the same obstacles and solutions we face in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio:

• Lots of impervious surface.
• Combined sewers that discharge billions of gallons of waste into our environment every year.
• Extensive tunnel projects to prevent those overflows.
• Opportunities for green infrastructure as smart stormwater solutions.

Could be a good resource for educators or community groups. But we don't advise kayaking into combined sewer outfalls, so keep that in mind.

NEWS: Sewer District, ODOT partner on green infrastructure to mitigate Opportunity Corridor’s stormwater impacts

Agreement with ODOT to provide Sewer District with $650,000 to fund green infrastructure projects throughout Doan Brook, nearby watersheds

A groundbreaking agreement between the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District and the Ohio Department of Transportation will fund hundreds of thousands of dollars in green infrastructure grants to address stormwater impacts associated with the Opportunity Corridor construction.

Sewer District Trustees approved a resolution yesterday authorizing it to enter into an agreement with ODOT which includes a $650,000 payment to enable the Sewer District to establish a new Green Infrastructure Grants Program.

GREEN: St. Patrick's Day and 5 stories of green with Cuyahoga River connections

Our mighty Cuyahoga has never received the full Chicago River green-dye treatment, but it has some green tales to tell.

Here are five interesting stories you may not have heard.

5. The Cuyahoga River was dyed green in 2008. Mysteriously.

In January of that year, the City of Akron discovered a green dye in the Cuyahoga River near their wastewater treatment plant. The plant said they were not responsible for the dye, and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency investigated the discovery. No information was available about the official source of the dye.

WEATHER: Why melting snow plus heavy rains equals flooding potential across Greater Cleveland

With inches of snow still on the ground and warming conditions and rain in the forecast, the combination has potential to increase flooding risks across Greater Cleveland.

In preparation for upcoming wet weather events, we want customers and residents know how and why wet-weather events impact our region’s sewer infrastructure. With snow still standing on the saturated ground, it is possible that the rainfall could affect areas prone to flooding.

Here are some common questions amidst the anticipated warming trend.

How do storms impact sewers? Isn't that what sewers were designed to handle?

The first concern is the amount of combined sewage entering local waterways. Combined sewage is flow that contains both sewage and stormwater. Here's why:

In Cleveland, inner-ring suburbs, and many other older communities, sewers were designed in the 1800s as combined sewers to carry both sanitary sewage and stormwater in the same pipe. During heavy rains, these sewers are overwhelmed and combined sewage overflows into the environment. When there is snow-covered ground and the earth is already saturated, the rain is not soaked slowly into the ground; instead, it runs off to sewers, increasing flow volumes tremendously.

GREEN: 78 green infrastructure projects you might not realize are part of Cleveland's present, future

If you run in sustainability circles nowadays, it's a phrase you hear a lot: Green infrastructure, green infrastructure, green infrastructure.

But in Cleveland, you might not be aware of just how many green infrastructure projects are planned or under construction right now in the Cleveland area. Seventy-eight, to be exact:

The purple area in the map above indicates an area served by combined sewers—sewers that carry both sewage and stormwater in the same pipe. It includes most of the City of Cleveland and portions of 11 surrounding communities, the region covered by Project Clean Lake, our 25-year consent decree that will reduce combined-sewer-overflow pollution by billions of gallons by 2035.

PIC: Sweet home Milwaukee? Trash boat has best name ever.

OK, so Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District has the best boat name ever.

Since 2012, Milwaukee's canals and rivers have been maintained with a skimming boat named the Lynyrd Skymmr.

Lynyrd Skymmr.

Worth noting today since it was on this day back in 1973 that Lynyrd Skynyrd played in Ohio, just down the road at E. J. Thomas Hall in Akron.

PIC: Ask an engineer how a combined sewer works. Here's what you get.

"It's a little messy around the edges," Joe said, referring to his sketch of a combined sewer regulator. I would have described it as intricate, then again, I'm not Joe.

Joe Jira is a Geographic Information System Analyst in our Engineering department, and Analyst doesn't give his enthusiasm for his work justice.

I recently saw his sketch when he offered coworkers a demonstration of our GIS technology and how he uses Google SketchUp to create diagrams of our infrastructure. The "sketch" above is his way of explaining the flow of a combined sewer in Cleveland under E. 107th and Park Lane.

VIDEO: Kids news program Newsdepth goes deep with Mackenzie, how sewers work

Mackenzie dug her way into hundreds of Ohio schools late last month.

After our tunnel boring machine Mackenzie finished digging the 18,000-foot-long Euclid Creek Tunnel in August, she was brought to the surface piece by piece, and a school news program featured her accomplishment in September.

The clip above is from the September 18 Ideastream program Newsdepth, a weekly news program for Ohio students in grades three through eight. Here's the complete half-hour episode.

GREEN: Paving the way, but with less pavement

Consider it a two-for-one deal.

One of our latest green projects is nearing completion in University Circle, a Courtyard by Marriott parking lot that will reduce stormwater runoff and cut sewer contributions by more than one million gallons per year.

The work is a Project Clean Lake green-infrastructure project because it will reduce combined sewer overflows to nearby Doan Brook and reduce runoff from more than one acre of hard surfaces—the hotel rooftop and the parking lot.

FUNNY: Hastily made blog entry about Edgewater Beach and Mike Polk, Jr.

Based on this photo of comedian Mike Polk, Jr.'s date-night ideas,
CSO might stand for a "Cleveland Saturday out."

UPDATE: The Plain Dealer's Tipoff column shared this post with Mike, and we're flattered he got a kick out of it. While his Cuyahoga County reference is misstated, the tour offer still stands, hard hats and all.

So this summer, we got some attention on the Alan Cox Show. Now we're getting Cleveland Magazine press time thanks to comedian Mike Polk, Jr.

OK, so it wasn't Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District kudos, but yet another poke at pollution at Edgewater Beach and Polk's Cleveland-date-nights-on-the-cheap. (Love is in the air... Wait, that's not love...).

The November issue of Cleveland Magazine gave a write-up for Polk's new book, which features Edgewater Beach—along with its combined sewer overflow (CSO, the large flap gate you see behind him and his date) and reputation—as an idea for "Cleveland dating on the cheap:" In his words:

If you go on a date to Edgewater Beach, you come back wit several rashes, and that makes getting intimate that much more difficult."

We won't speak to intimacy, but rest assured, Mike. Just as we told Alan Cox, we're working to reduce pollution at places like Edgewater Beach thanks to Project Clean Lake. Think of it as our way of reducing "trash and rash"—fewer overflows of pollution to the environment means cleaner beaches. And this outfall at Edgewater opens less than one time per year, but even that is more than we want, so we're working to do even better. Just sayin'.

So enjoy your nights out at Cleveland establishments. And Mike, you could always add "wastewater treatment plant tour" to your list of chap date nights. We'll even give you and your guest primary treatment.