LOOK: Wherever you are, look down. This could be happening under your feet right now.

Next time you see a manhole in the street, think about the work it took to build the system beneath it.

This picture from March helps tell some of that story.

PHOTO: Eyes playing tricks? Why clean treated water looks darker on mobile maps

You never know what you'll find on Google Maps. Like an image that looks like a wastewater treatment plant spewing something unnatural into a Great Lake.

Robert saw this today and asked us:

@neorsd hey what's this coming out of your plant? I'm sure it's safe for the fish And kids that swim in this lake pic.twitter.com/HraU5OuomA
— Robert Prendergast (@Bobby_Prender0) April 2, 2014

We answered that this is actually clean water that is being released into Lake Erie from our Easterly plant in Cleveland, but you might not think that based on the image. So we asked Easterly Assistant Superintendent Andy Rossiter to explain.

This is effluent, the clean water that has been treated at Easterly. The effluent appears darker than the surrounding water because it is clearer; you can see deeper into the water.

The surrounding lake water looks lighter because the particles in the water (which are closer to the surface) reflect the light back toward the camera.

Thanks, Andy, and thanks Robert for the good question. Have a question about sewers, our water resources, or what it takes to treat millions of gallons of sewage? Tweet us any time.

NOTICE: Lakeshore Blvd. sewer project preparations underway

As part of the Euclid Creek Tunnel project, the Sewer District will be constructing the Lakeshore Boulevard Consolidation Sewer along Lakeshore Boulevard from the Easterly treatment plant to East 150th Street.
The Lakeshore Boulevard Consolidation Sewer project will include the installation of monitors at the foundations of various residences along the project route. These monitors will be small 3-inch by 4-inch plastic markers to determine if there is settlement of any surrounding buildings along Lakeshore Boulevard. This is just a precautionary measure as the Sewer District does not anticipate any major settlement, and these monitors are used solely to confirm our expectations.

This sewer will be micro-tunneled, which means it will be constructed underground to minimize surface disruptions, but there will be several above ground structures such as manholes and access shafts. 

Project Clean Lake is a 25-year program to reduce pollution in Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River. 

If you have any questions, leave us a comment below.

Video: Project Clean Lake breaks ground with Euclid Creek Tunnel

Treatment plant performance was top-notch in 2010

Greg Glover, Victor Chan, and Gerald Borling check the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) to monitor phosphorous levels in the wastewater.

In 2010, each of the District’s treatment plants achieved 100% compliance with its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits. It was the first year since 1999 that all three plants had zero permit excursions.

2010: From stormwater to sewage and everything in between

The last 12 months have been filled with clean-water progress and projects that affect every one of our customers and one million Northeast Ohio residents. Here are just a few of our 2010 accomplishments: