NEWS: Leadership, transitions, and vision, a glimpse into the first 100 days of a new CEO

New presidents make their marks on America within the first 100 days of taking office. Does our new CEO expect to make her mark on water quality in her first 100 days?

Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells

Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells was tapped as our new Chief Executive Officer this month and she will assume the role officially once current CEO Julius Ciaccia retires February 10. It's inauguration week, so we asked Kyle about her vision, the peaceful transition of power, and her plans for her first 100 days.

"My vision is really about leadership," Kyle said. As an eight-year District employee and former director of Chagrin River Watershed Partners, she emphasized the role the Sewer District must play as a leader in water quality.

"We need to continue to be leaders on key environmental issues that affect our rivers, streams and lake, but also on the real infrastructure investment it's going to take to maintain the progress we've made and the progress we need to make."

WATCH: Kyle and Matt bring a serving of sewer science to @WCPN

Kyle and Matt served up a heaping helping of sewer science on today's Sound of Ideas on WCPN.

Deputy Director of Watershed Programs and soon-to-be CEO Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells and Watershed Team Leader Matt Scharver appeared with Mike McIntyre today to promote their Science Cafe presentation January 9.

NEWS: Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells to be appointed CEO, sees "opportunity to build upon successes"

Leadership, passion, commitment among words used to describe Dreyfuss-Wells as CEO Ciaccia prepares for February retirement

Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells will be appointed Chief Executive Officer effective February 11. Dreyfuss-Wells will succeed Julius Ciaccia who, after more than nine years as CEO, will retire on February 10, 2017.

Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells addresses
the City Club, 2016

"Under the leadership of CEO Ciaccia, the Sewer District has become one of the most renowned progressive environmental organizations in the nation," Dreyfuss-Wells said. "I would like to thank the Board of Trustees for giving me the opportunity to build upon those successes."

Dreyfuss-Wells has been with the Sewer District since 2008, and currently is the Deputy Director of Watershed Programs. In addition to her leadership role in the development and implementation of the Regional Stormwater Management Program, Dreyfuss-Wells played a critical role in the negotiations with the federal government of Project Clean Lake, the Sewer District’s program to significantly reduce the amount of raw sewage discharging into the environment.

She has led on the Sewer District’s Green Infrastructure Program, including the implementation of the grants program, which is designed to remove stormwater from the combined system as redevelopment activities occur.

GREEN: Living wall breathes life into historic building in Ohio City

Flip a rain garden 90 degrees and what could you get? Something both striking and functional.

One beneficiary of the District’s Green Infrastructure Grant Program is the Striebinger Block building on West 29th Street in Ohio City.

The 1919 building boasts a “living wall” that is fed by rainwater collected from the roof and held in ground-level cisterns. During dry weather, the water is pumped up to plants mounted on the brick façade. Catch basins at the bottom of the wall also capture and recirculate water back to the cisterns.

The Living Wall joins other District-funded green infrastructure projects in Ohio City, including rain gardens at Transformer Station (also on W. 29th) and the nearly-completed West Side Market parking lot. Together, these projects are taking advantage of Ohio City’s redevelopment activity and great soils to promote on-site stormwater management and reduce stormwater in the combined sewer system.

Story by Yolanda Kelly and Michael Uva

RELATED NEWS:

• GREEN: 6 ways green infrastructure is taking root in Cleveland
• PROJECTS: 7 things to know about green infrastructure work in East Cleveland
• FUNDING: Funding opportunities for watershed groups and green infrastructure projects

PROJECTS: 7 things to know about green infrastructure projects in East Cleveland

Sewer projects often are much more than sewers. And solutions can be found beyond the construction sites many are used to.

One of our current projects scheduled for this year is happening in part in East Cleveland, a combination of sewer and green-infrastructure construction that will reduce pollution to local waterways.

The project name is a mouthful: The East 140th Street Consolidation and Relief Sewers project, or E140CRS.

Media and residents have asked questions about the project plans, so we wanted to offer seven important points about the project's origin, benefits, and approach to clear any confusion.

1. Cleveland is built on old (but maintained) sewer network known as combined sewers. 

We start at the beginning, a long time ago. Combined sewers carry stormwater and sewage in the same pipe, a design that dates back to the early 1900s; it was effective for moving and collecting wastewater back in the day.

Combined sewer overflows result because the sewer system in East Cleveland—and other older, urban communities—is not equipped to handle the mixture of stormwater and sanitary sewage that results from significant rain events. When the sewers reach capacity, they overflow to the environment at relief points called combined sewer overflows. Overflows affect the environment, water quality, and public health.

FLINT: Health, trust, and funding in the wake of Flint's water crisis

Three issues are critical to the future of clean water systems, Sewer District fully supports Value of Water Coalition guidelines for sustainable future 

If Charleston and Toledo were water-quality wake-up calls, Flint is the living nightmare for residents, officials, and the entire country.

The 2014 Elk River chemical spill in Charleston, West Virginia and the 2014 toxic algae outbreak near Toledo, Ohio represented the dangers of taking water-resource protection for granted. As Flint, Michigan residents now rely on bottled water while the safety of and trust in the city’s infrastructure must be restored, the painful reality is one that is decades in the making.

"Drinking water and wastewater utilities systems do and must protect not only the water resources, but the people that rely upon them," said Julius Ciaccia, Chief Executive Officer of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District.

"We must work together to ensure infrastructure can be safe, trusted, and affordable for future generations."

In response to the Flint, Michigan water crisis, the Value of Water Coalition, a collaboration consisting of private and public water agencies—including the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District—as well as several other stakeholders, recently released a set of guidelines to ensure a sustainable water future for all. Those guidelines, fully supported by the Sewer District, include:

EVENT: #2016outreach contractor opportunities event draws overflow crowd

Contract Compliance Officer Diana Jones greets guests January 21.

Construction contractors from Northeast Ohio and across the Midwest came to Cleveland recently to hear details about $140 million in construction projects presented by the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District.

Sewer District engineers rolled out plans for nearly a dozen construction projects—including the Dugway South Relief and Consolidation Sewer in Cleveland and East Cleveland—on Thursday, January 21, at the Centers for Families and Children in Cleveland.

“We were very pleased with the significant turn out for this outreach event” said Tiffany Jordan, manager of contracts and compliance. “It was exciting to see the diverse businesses and operators in the room."

You can hear the full event podcast courtesy Diane Helbig below.

GREEN: 6 ways green infrastructure takes root locally and regionally

Protect. Enhance. Preserve. Restore.

These goals are at the heart of the sweeping Green Infrastructure Policy that guides the projects we pursue and helps quantify their benefits to our region.

"The policy demonstrates a commitment," said Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells, Deputy Director of Watershed Programs. "It lays out a future where green infrastructure is integrated across our program areas to lead the most effective applications of this technology."

Defining green

Definitions of "green infrastructure" can vary across cities and agencies, but the Sewer District embraces two clear definitions as follows:

Project Clean Lake green infrastructure
Related to our 25-year combined sewer overflow consent decree
The range of stormwater control measures that use plant/soil systems, permeable pavement, or stormwater harvest and reuse, to store, infiltrate, or evapotranspirate stormwater and reduce flows to the combined sewer system.

Wet-Weather Program green infrastructure
Stormwater source control measures that store, filter, infiltrate, harvest and reuse, or evapotranspirate stormwater to increase resiliency of infrastructure by reducing stress on wet-weather drainage and collection systems which increase co-benefits in support of healthy environments and strong communities.

LOOK: Have a peek at the restoration plans for two Euclid Creek Tunnel shaft sites

Euclid Creek Tunnel shaft site 5

Euclid Creek Tunnel shaft site4

With the Euclid Creek Tunnel now complete on time and under budget, the Sewer District has set its sights on site restoration at two important community locations: Shaft 4 at Triangle Park at East 174 Street, and Shaft 5 at Nottingham Road and St. Clair Avenue.

The restoration contract was awarded to Nerone & Sons, Inc. on July 16, 2015. Substantial completion for the two site restorations shown above is expected in the spring of 2016.

The Euclid Creek Tunnel is the first of seven tunnels that will be completed under Project Clean Lake. When the Tunnel Dewatering Pump Station is complete at the end of 2016, the Euclid Creek Tunnel will be fully operational and will reduce combined sewer overflow by approximately 368 million gallons per year.

NEWS: Euclid Creek Tunnel completed $3.6 million under budget

First tunnel under Project Clean Lake now complete, sets benchmark for future cost-saving opportunities

Tunnel boring machine Mackenzie being disassembled
after completing her Euclid Creek Tunnel route,
September, 2013

Today, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District’s Board of Trustees passed Resolution 238-15, a Final Adjusting Change Order, for the Euclid Creek Tunnel. As a result of outstanding project management, this contract will close $3,602,637.77 under budget.

The Euclid Creek Tunnel, originally a $198 million project, is the first in a series of storage tunnels constructed as a part of Project Clean Lake, the Sewer District’s 25-year, $3 billion program to drastically reduce the amount of combined sewage entering local waterways annually.

“Our engineering and construction team worked diligently to complete this project under budget,” said Kellie Rotunno, Chief Operating Officer, “The Euclid Creek Tunnel sets a new financial benchmark as we continue to identify cost-savings and save our customers money.”

The Sewer District has already realized $330 million in savings since the inception of Project Clean Lake. This savings has come from value engineering, contract management and a highly competitive bidding environment.

“I am proud of all the accomplishments we’ve made during my tenure as CEO,” said Julius Ciaccia, CEO. “Project Clean Lake is one of the region’s largest infrastructure investments and this tunnel system will keep hundreds of millions of gallons of combined sewage out of Lake Erie each year.”

PROJECTS: Urban Agriculture project features will protect Lake Erie, plant seeds of knowledge

"Cleveland is known across the country for its re-purposing vacant and abandoned properties for urban agriculture."

Those are the words of our Deputy Director of Watershed Programs Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells. And now, as this home-grown movement gets a boost from our green infrastructure program, a new urban ag project will help manage stormwater, reduce pollution to Lake Erie, and offer a new site for environmental outreach and education.

Located in the Kinsman neighborhood on Cleveland’s east side, the Green Ambassador—Urban Agriculture project is designed to manage 7 million gallons of stormwater a year, reducing combined sewer overflow volumes to Lake Erie by 1.6 million gallons and improving water quality when complete in 2017.

VIDEO: What's happening under Public Square in Cleveland?

Behind the concrete barriers and orange construction fencing at the corner of Superior and Ontario, there is an overwhelming amount of activity taking place to renovate Public Square.

Cleveland.com showcased aerial images of the site's progress in a recent story as crews rush to take advantage of good weather to stay on schedule for a 2016 completion. But what's happening underground?

Often overlooked is the infrastructure that will help improve water quality and manage stormwater at the same time, innovations that will increase greenspace on the site and promote sustainability.

Stormwater Technical Specialist David Ritter recently took us behind the barriers to give us an idea of how this "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity that began last October is taking shape and how sewer improvements have a positive effect on Lake Erie.

"The Sewer District saw this as an opportunity to manage stormwater in a highly urbanized environment," Ritter said, "and was able to work with [partners] to leverage the work that was already going on here at Public Square."

WATCH: Here's what a 260-foot crane ride looks like.

When you talk about underground work, "heights" are not something that comes to mind. But to get into and out of our Tunnel Dewatering Pump Station project in Bratenahl, workers need to take this crane ride that may leave some of you catching your breath.

NEWS: Summer sun, sandy beaches, and swimming advisories? What you need to know

You hit the beach with family or friends and pass a red-and-white Advisory sign as you roll out your towel. Should you be concerned? And what affects bacteria levels at local beaches?

One of our jobs is to monitor water quality at three local beaches, including Edgewater, Villa Angela and Euclid beaches. And in that work, we have a role sharing information and researching the bacteria and their sources.

So rather than be concerned, be informed. Here's what you need to know.

What an advisory means

An advisory means bacteria levels in the swimming areas along the beach may be elevated. The advisory may be posted near main beach entrances.

What causes bacteria levels to rise

Many variables can impact the water quality of the beaches, some of which you might not expect.

The list includes the presence of waterfowl at the beach, the influence of Lake Erie currents, the fate of pollutants—like raw sewage—discharged into local water bodies, and stormwater runoff, which can carry motor oil, garbage and other pollutants into local water bodies, too.

All of these factors affect bacteria levels in the water at the beach, and daily testing helps keep visitors informed, especially if conditions for higher bacteria levels are present.

#ALLinCLE: How an NBA Finals game and stormwater management are painfully similar

Not concerned. Have you heard about our Stormwater Management Program? @matthewdelly @kingjames #ALLinCLE @SFWater pic.twitter.com/xdkcm57dVq

— NE Oh Regional Sewer (@neorsd) June 12, 2015

What began as a tongue-in-cheek exchange between utilities in the heat of their cities' NBA Finals battle shed light on odd similarities between basketball and managing stormwater.

The Cavs' game 4 performance was painful, but it proved four important points that fans of the hardwood and sustainability can both embrace. Are there others you would add?

1. Good defense can beat good offense.

It proved itself in the Cavs' wins in games 2 and 3 as Cleveland's defense kept "Splash City's" shooters at bay. Stormwater management works the same way.

Stormwater runoff in Cleveland's heavy storms wreaks havoc on combined sewer systems for a variety of reasons. One solution is to but up a good defense on your property to slow the flow of the water much like slowing the flow of a powerful offense.

This can be done with downspout disconnects, reducing hard surfaces (known as impervious pavement), or increasing green spaces to allow water to soak into the ground rather than rushing off toward storm sewers, combined sewers, or local waterways. There are plenty of tips you can use at home.

PROFILES: "I feel privileged to be a part of this program." Meet the second class of Good Neighbor Ambassadors

Good Neighbor Ambassadors work as liaisons between the Sewer District, various community and business organizations, and the general public.

The focus of this second class of Ambassadors is to address concerns of residents in the Glenville area during Project Clean Lake's Dugway Storage Tunnel construction. [See a full map of Dugway construction through 2019 planned or in progress]

They will also help install seasonal “high tunnel” greenhouses for growing crops and, in partnership with Cleveland Public Library, they will create reading gardens in the community.

Here's a little more about the latest class that started with us this spring.

Andre Wells
Andre grew up in the Glenville area and played Cleveland Muny League football at Glenville High School. He’s enthusiastic about having a larger role in the community. “I’m no longer just a resident,” Wells said.

“I have a role that can positively influence the community.” He also expressed his gratitude for what our program offers. “I can get training, go back to school, and get tuition reimbursement. I want to take full advantage of every opportunity given to me.”

Taylor Miller
As a Glenville resident, Taylor has seen the impact of construction on the neighborhood. Her curiosity about the construction and her interest in wastewater management led her to attend a Dugway Project community meeting. There she learned about the Good Neighbor program, and also saw how many people, like herself, had questions about the project.

“I feel privileged to be a part of this program, helping my community understand what is happening in our neighborhood,” Miller said.

NEWS: Central neighborhood brownfields go green with Sewer District project

Sewer District awarded $400,000 in clean-up funds to help with Green Infrastructure project

Contaminated land like this between Woodland Ave. and
Kinsman Rd. will be remediated to make way for a green
infrastructure project.

The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District has been awarded $400,000 from the US Environmental Protection Agency to clean up two brownfields in Cleveland's Central Neighborhood.

Two properties located between Woodland Avenue and Kinsman Road near E. 65th Street, polluted with thousands of cubic yards of industrial waste atop contaminated soils, will be remediated to make way for the Sewer District's Woodland Central Green Infrastructure Project.

The Sewer District applied for two Brownfields Cleanup Grants, each with a maximum award of $200,000. Awarded monies will help defray the total cost for site cleanup; estimated remediation costs are $1.2 million for these properties alone. Cleanup activities will include site preparation and restoration, removal and separation of solid waste, transportation and disposal of trash as well as backfilling of the site.

"We are extremely pleased about receiving these grants and grateful to our congressional delegation for supporting our applications," said Julius Ciaccia CEO of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District.

CAVS: Cuyahoga River fire? Top 3 #BlameDelly Cleveland environmental disasters

Even before game three of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, Cleveland Cavalier Matthew Dellavedova had earned a reputation as a "dirty player." Cavs fans in disagreement have spawned #BlameDelly memes and social-media commentary in recent days.

We suspect the cold-hearted Delly can also be implicated a number of Cleveland's environmental challenges.

1969 Cuyahoga River fire

• True cause: Pollution on the surface of the river was set ablaze by a spark from a passing train.
• #BlameDelly version: Matthew Dellavedova dove for a loose ball and caused the igniting spark when his stone heart scraped a rock on the bank.

Lake Erie toxic algae bloom

• True cause: Higher levels of phosphorus washing into the lake from surface runoff.
• #BlameDelly version: Matthew Dellavedova has polluted Lake Erie intentionally because his thirst can only be quenched by water as dark as his soul.

Combined sewer overflow pollution

• True cause: Century-old combined sewers under Cleveland were not designed to handle the increasing volume of surface runoff, leading to pollution overflowing into Lake Erie following heavy storms. Improvements have been made and more are underway.
• #BlameDelly version: Matthew Dellavedova is a dirty player and his filth seeps into the earth of every surface he touches.

As the Cavs continue their run towards a ring, we'll continue our run towards a greater Lake Erie. Go Cavs.

PROJECTS: About the Fairhill/MLK Green Ambassador Project in Cleveland

Known as the Fairhill-MLK Green Infrastructure Ambassador Project on the northeast corner of Fairhill Road and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard in Cleveland, this functional and aesthetic project will control stormwater and reduce the amount of water reaching the combined sewer system.

Green infrastructure includes a range of stormwater control measures—plant/soil systems, permeable pavement or other forms of stormwater harvest and reuse—to store, infiltrate, or evapotranspirate stormwater and reduce flows to the combined sewer system. It's an integral part of Project Clean Lake.

Existing conditions at Fairhill-MLK

The Project includes construction of a large basin and installation of new, separate storm sewers along E. 124 Street and portions of Fairhill Road, Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, Britton Drive, Mt. Overlook Avenue and E. 126 Street. It will manage 17 million gallons of stormwater in a typical year.

Sewer District representatives have held three public meetings offering attendees the opportunity to not only provide their opinion on the project, but also choose many of the aesthetic features.

UPDATE: This pre-construction public-meeting slide deck was presented to the community March 25, 2015. Prior slides describe Project Clean Lake and related work; subsequent slides present greater detail on the design and function of this project.

Fairhill/MLK pre-construction public meeting 3-25-2015 from Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District

ANTICIPATED ROAD CLOSURES:
[View full size]

RELATED STORIES:

• HISTORY: What is Project Clean Lake? / Video
• VIDEO: What is a combined sewer overflow?
• ABOUT: 7 reasons our Project Clean Lake plan was a groundbreaking agreement

LOOK: Can you be afraid of heights 200 feet underground?

Can you say "Don't look down," when you're already 200 feet below the earth's surface? Based on the photo shown here, um yes.

This is the current state of construction of the Easterly Tunnel Dewatering Pump Station taking shape 240 feet under Bratenahl. Upon completion, this cavern will house enormous pumps capable of drawing more than 160 million gallons of wastewater per day from three of our Easterly plant's four storage tunnels.

The photo was taken from near the location of the star below.

Construction is scheduled to be substantially complete in 2016.

RELATED STORIES:

• PROJECTS: A closer look at the pump station being built under Bratenahl 
• PHOTO: What are all those cranes popping up along I-90?
• LEARN MORE: What is the Euclid Creek Tunnel?
• GREEN: Gray, green, or in between? The story of infrastructure and alternatives