TECH: Sewers, iPads, and drones among 5 innovations at work for clean water

Not all tech innovations are apps. Take a look at five innovations one utility has put to work for efficiency and water quality.

How do you innovate the lake?

Lake Erie is perhaps the most challenged of the Great Lakes, but with those challenges come opportunities for innovation. Sewers have been taken for granted as a significant technological advance, perhaps even since Cleveland installed its first sewers in the 1800s. Which is why it can be easy to overlook the vast amount of innovation at work and in design in the world of utilities.

Here are five examples we have working for clean water in the field that help to protect our Great Lake.

Drones are an eye in the sky

We are responsible for a regional stream network more than 420 miles long. When our Regional Stormwater Management Program launched in 2013, inspections of problem locations were documented on foot as workers physically waked the streams for planning purposes. But the most recent master-planning effort involves drone data collection. Aerial photography captures more raw images for site assessment, analysis and communication. Most recently, we covered 60 miles of the Cuyahoga River watershed with drone technology in less than two weeks.

Grading on a curve

Microtunneling involves boring a tunnel underground rather than opening up a trench at the surface. That alone is intended to minimize disruption during construction. But our Dugway West Interceptor Relief Sewer also featured a rarely used technology known as curved microtunneling. It eliminated two access shafts at the surface, saving money and reducing impacts on the neighborhood above the project.

iPads keep documents and data at the ready

Our sewer maintenance and stormwater inspection and maintenance teams use iPads for GIS, asset location, and site investigations. Finding collection systems in the field in real time increases productivity, and the ability to report from the field improves response time.

Piloting treatment tech could save dollars, improve water quality

We have a 25-year plan to reduce Lake Erie pollution by 4 billion gallons a year. Doing so is costly, but proper planning has given us potential to save money through innovative approaches. One is chemically enhanced high-rate treatment. Implementing CEHRT at our plants, like Westerly shown here, eliminates the need for extensive construction, reduces operation and maintenance costs, and meets our water-quality requirements through simultaneous disinfection.

Maps tell the story

Storymaps are mashups. They use GIS and a variety of web tools to communicate through visually appealing maps like mobile storyboards. One example captures progress and success of our Green Infrastructure Grant program, pinpointing project locations, project photos, and descriptions of benefits. Future construction will be documented for customers in a similar way.

WATCH: "We expected 9. It was actually 10.5," and more facts about Lake Erie algae in 2015

"We expected this year's bloom to be a 9 (out of 10). It was actually a 10.5."

That was how Jeffery Reutter, Ph.D. introduced his November 11 City Club presentation on Lake Erie's hazardous algal blooms, a challenge that has affected water quality in recent years. But a mystery this year is why the toxicity was not as extreme as the off-the-scale metric would have indicated.

Jeffrey Reutter, Ph.D. Image via The City Club

"This was the worst [algal] bloom we've had in our history," he continued, "but it only produced about a quarter of the toxin that we expected. That's a huge challenge for us to understand right now." Reutter is a special adviser to the Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Laboratory at The Ohio State University, and he indicated this will be an important area of research following the 2015 algae season.

In the 1960s and early 1970s, phosphorus from wastewater treatment plants was a key contributor to algae because it is key to the growth of hazardous blooms. But since treatment plants significantly reduced their phosphorus output, the biggest contributor now is fertilizer-laden runoff from agriculture all around the Great Lake.

"If we can take the appropriate actions, we can greatly reduce the amount [of nutrients in stormwater runoff]. The weakness in that argument is climate change; if we keep getting more and more frequent storms and more wet spring periods, we'll see things that are worse."

Ruetter offered recommendations to improve water quality on personal property which would reduce have a beneficial impact on runoff entering streams and storm sewer systems. Listen to or view the complete City Club presentation.

Related stories:

• NEWS: 5 takeaways from Jeffrey Reutter's talk via cleveland.com
• ENVIRONMENT: The facts about phosphorus and Lake Erie
• VIDEO: How wastewater treatment processes manage phosphorus
• LISTEN: Is Lake Erie burning?

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.”

2016: 3 ways water could take center stage at Thursday's Republican debate #GOPdebate

Senator Marco Rubio sips water during the GOP response to the 2013 State of the Union address.

We don't often talk politics. We talk water. But with the first 2016 Republican Debate taking place this Thursday right here in Cleveland, hey let's talk both.

Water could very well take center stage with the candidates this week, and we see three areas where it's most likely to happen.

1. Public speaking and staying hydrated

When Paul Ryan (R-WI) debated now Vice President Joe Biden in 2012, much attention was paid to his many sips of water between questions.

Whatever side of the aisle you're on, professional public speakers do recommend drinking plenty of water before big speaking engagements to keep oneself hydrated and dry-mouth-free on stage.

But as Senator Marco Rubio can attest, drinking water—bottled water BTW—during a big speech caaaaan get a little awkward.

TRENDS: No, #Sharknado3 would not affect Great Lakes, but raining sea lampreys would be a thing of nightmares

Despite a sketchy 1954 report of a bull-shark attack on Lake Michigan, fears of a Great Lakes Sharknado is nothing to keep you up at night.

But could any Great Lakes monster rain from the sky in a so-bad-it's-good made-for-SyFy-channel movie? Our investigators named one.

"I would say the sea lamprey," said Supervisor of Environmental Assessment Seth Hothem.

LIST: 5 reasons mayflies are nothing like giant mutated man-eating ants

When meteorologist Mark Johnson posted a radar image yesterday of a cloud of mayflies swarming over Lake Erie, it was almost intimidating, like something you'd see in a B-movie trailer foretelling a fight scene between mutated bugs and a clan of outmatched but gutsy Clevelanders.

One move that came to mind is 1977's Empire of the Ants (what do you mean you've never seen it?!) But before you stock up on bunker supplies and take cover, there is really no reason to fear mayflies.

Here are five reasons a swarm of mayflies are so nothing like the ants of 1977 B-movie fame.

PIC: Soooo this swarm of bugs is so thick you can see it on radar?

So that blob on the weather radar? It's not a storm. It's a swarm.

WEWS Chief Meteorologist Mark "Still not a foul" Johnson shared this photo via Twitter last night:

Yes... Those are millions of mayflies showing up on Power of 5 Radar. Details: http://t.co/t2q8MReSV6 @MarkJWeather pic.twitter.com/quJaaqcrmj

— WEWS NewsChannel5 (@WEWS) June 24, 2015

Seriously? Enough mayflies out over the lake that the mass is visible ON RADAR? Yes, and it's common.

Mark wrote up a good explanation of mayflies and their mating habits, including a mention of what their presence across Ohio's north coast means for water quality. These insects are a sign that water quality is good, and their reappearance each season shows that Lake Erie's health has improved in recent decades.

So while challenges to Lake Erie remain, these bugs are nothing to be scared of. Unless of course they rise up against humanity.

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.

#RNC2CLE: Whatever your party, clean water is worth celebrating.

Big news for the CLE from the RNC today as Cleveland and Dallas are the final two cities in the running for the 2016 Republican National Convention.

Whatever your political leanings might be, an event like this could bring much attention to Cleveland in a very positive way. Of course, we're proud of our natural resources and our work that helps keep them great. Despite the challenges of today and tomorrow, there is hope, and there is action.

And that's a ticket worth running on.

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: Burn on, big river. Burn on.

Cleveland, baseball, and Randy Newman are forever linked.

Ever since Major League hit the big screen in 1989, Newman's song "Burn on" (1972) has come to be synonymous with Cleveland, the Cleveland Indians, and the start of summer.

For us and our responsibility to protect Lake Erie, it means something more.

The song is based in part on the Cuyahoga River fire of 1969 and the awful state of our lake and river at the time. Just like the fictional Lou Brown's and Jake Taylor's Indians, the lake and river have made major improvements the region can be proud of.

Pollution may still be the New York Yankees of the challenges Lake Erie faces, but we do have a plan.

BLOG: Midges vs. mayflies: Let's clear the air and the confusion

Midges, mayflies, muckelheads, this can all be very confusing. And all of them can be very annoying. We'd like to help clarify a bit of the current bug conundrum.

Let's start here: There are midges (also known as muckleheads), and there are mayflies. They are different, but they're both related to the quality of our Great Lake.

Midges and muckleheads

The shores of Lake Erie have been teeming with these little guys lately—muckleheads. Fox 8 meteorologist Scott Sabol has shared a few updates over the last week.

twitter.com/scottsabolfox8

We verified his total. He was off by three.

But what are these pesky buggers? These are known as muckleheads or midges. Or if you want to impress friends, call them Chironomidae.

WIkipedia

They hatch over Lake Erie in the spring and fall and make their way inland. They don't bite and they're not harmful, but they can still be a nuisance during a beach barbeque. According to our Senior Investigator Ron Maichle, they are organisms of interest because they have varying tolerance of pollution. The Sewer District does collect macroinvertebrates to study water quality, but we do not study the adult midge population.

LIST: Wait, people thought Cleveland was bad?

"16 reasons Cleveland is not as bad as you think"? We guess 16 is a fine place to start, but the list could go on and on, and there are a few glaring omissions.

This week, Buzzfeed posted a fun piece with that title, noting examples like Charles Ramsey's heroics, our Millionaire's Row past, homegrown celebs, and 21,000 acres of glorious Cleveland Metroparks.

Plus the Hollywood attention we're getting over the next two months.

All great examples, believe us, but there could have been at least these three others.

NEWS: Don't be shad. Fish die-off is common, natural

In recent weeks, hikers along Metroparks streams or winter-stroll beachgoers may have seen a surge of dead fish washed up on the shore.

Is the die-off of these silvery blue-green fish a sign of environmental turmoil, or a natural occurrence? It’s the latter, and it happens regularly.

Shad can’t stand the change: Known as the eastern gizzard shad, this fish species (Dorosoma cepedianum) is not native to Lake Erie or its tributaries, and is very sensitive to rapid temperature changes. Lake Erie’s and streams' water temperature—because of shallow depth and northerly locations—can change very quickly in early and late winter months, causing die-offs of significant numbers of gizzard shad.

“It can be unsightly, but it’s important to note that in most cases the die-offs are natural,” said John Rhoades, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District Supervisor of Environmental Assessment.

Colder temperatures slow the shad’s body’s ability to draw nutrients from surrounding water, which commonly leads to starvation during colder months as well, causing further die-offs in December, January and February.

TWEET: "We're not that bad." And getting better.

Our @WallyWaterdrop came across this tweet from Ohio Problems @Ohio_Probs late yesterday. It's still getting RT'd today. In typical "Only In Cleveland" fashion, even Wally had a chuckle at this, but the sewage issue caught our attention.

While our work can't improve our baseball team's standings or locals' dietary choices, the sewage issue is one we are taking off the #OhioProbs list slowly but surely.

EVENTS: Cleveland to welcome Great Lakes Week Summit, WVIZ/PBS will broadcast

We are supporting and participating in the Great Lakes Week Summit and Great Lakes Restoration Conference starting September 11, discussing the challenges and opportunities facing Lake Erie and our entire Great Lakes region.

You can still register to attend, and you can also follow more than 25 hours of programming thanks to a partnership between WVIZ/PBS ideastream and Detroit Public Television.

Here's the official release and program guide from WVIZ/PBS:

RADIO, part II: "That's a significant drop." Yes, he is.

So when a caller to the WMMS 100.7 Alan Cox Show during Wednesday drivetime reacted to the hosts' conversation about Lake Erie's poor beachwater quality, he rightfully touched on the Sewer District's multi-billion-dollar program to fix some of the problems plaguing the lakefront.

We heard about the call yesterday morning, and our own Jean Chapman sent Alan Cox an email to clarify a few points the caller made. Why not, right? With that, we also used her email as a blog post, embedded a clip from the show's podcast, and added a few points for good measure. In good fun, our spokesdrop Wally tweeted @alancoxshow to let him know he gave us good material and an opportunity to share information.

Then came Thursday's show. Check it out.