BUZZ: Where poo and pop culture collide, we are there. Watch Jessica take @BuzzFeed's poo quiz.

As your trusted authority for all things poo and pop culture, we considered it an obligation.

When BuzzFeed posted a "How poo obsessed are you?" quiz, we wondered—based on our areas of expertise—exactly how we'd fare in the final tally. We believed it would be irresponsible of us not to take it.

So we interviewed our own Community Relations Specialist Jessica Shutty, asking her to take the quiz (with no advanced knowledge of the questions). Her honesty and humor are unmatched in our social media archives, so enjoy the exchange.



In a related note, you can request a guest speaker on poo, wastewater, sustainability, stormwater, and a host of many other topics, whether humorous or professional or both.

WATCH: Reading Rainbow's visit to a sewage treatment plant reminds us how awesome LeVar Burton is

If you watched Reading Rainbow as a kid, or if you're still tuned in to today's incarnation of the PBS classic, then this episode proves the theme song's line, "I can go anywhere."

Host LaVar Burton takes a trip to and through a wastewater treatment plant. And while some technology showcased here differs slightly from how we operate in Cleveland, the process is largely the same, and the result is clear, fresh, safe water.

But you don't have to take our word for it.

SPORTS: What would happen if Michael Phelps tried swimming in our tanks?

As swimmer Michael Phelps places more gold medals around his neck during these Olympic Games in Rio, we wondered how he'd fare in an environment more unusual than a 50-meter chlorinated pool.

Southerly first-stage aeration tanks

Could Phelps swim in one of these long bubbling channels known as an aeration tank? or perhaps the round in-ground-pool-like tanks nearby?

First, such a thing would not be a good idea, and the topic is not an invitation to try it. But second, the hypothetical does make for interesting discussion regarding the treatment process and the water's physical properties.

We asked our Easterly Wastewater Treatment Plant Assistant Superintendent Dan Smith that question, turning our attention to two tanks along our common tour route: our clarifiers, and our aeration tanks.

PROFILES: Operations team's top finish at state competition carries them to nationals this fall

Front: Christen Wood, Doug Dietzel, Dan Valek.
Back: Karl Ellis, Jimmy Spencer, John Corn.

New Orleans, here we come.

In June, the District’s Operations Challenge team competed at the Ohio Water Environment Association (OWEA) competition in Aurora, Ohio, and their top finish guaranteed them a spot at national competition in the Big Easy this fall.

Ops Challenges are held across the nation, and consist of five main events in the areas of Maintenance, Collections, Safety, Laboratory, and Process Control. Accuracy and speed are key to winning.

Our team—Christen Wood, Doug Dietzel, Karl Ellis, Dan Valek, and Jimmy Spencer, led by John Corn—took first place in Division II, first place in the Process Control event, and third place overall. They will represent OWEA in Division II of the national event at the Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC) in New Orleans this September.

“This is the first time in about 20 years that the District has participated in the Ops Challenge,” said Unit Process Manager Christen Wood. “I saw the dedication required and the skills demonstrated and wanted to be a part of it.

“I heard from at least three OWEA reps and a WEF rep how pleased they were that the District is back in the Challenge,” said Operation & Maintenance Deputy Director Frank Foley.

John Corn explained how this type of competition goes hand-in-hand with the District’s training programs. “It creates cohorts who can learn best practices across the industry and incorporate it into work,” he said.

“To win, you can’t be good at just one thing,” explained Wood. “The lab people need to learn Maintenance, for example. Being able to leverage those differences makes the whole team stronger, and you’re learning things you wouldn’t normally come across in your job.”

“Events like this enhance the overall skill level of our staff,” said Corn. “We’re maximizing our capabilities and level of service to our customers.”

RELATED NEWS:

•  CAREERS: See what opportunities await you in the water industry
• QUICK CLIPS: 2-minute-or-less videos about our work and your community
• RATES: How are your sewer rates determined? (Video)
• VIDEO: How an in-house training center offers a fuller learning experience

Michael Uva, Senior Communications Specialist

LIST: 5 ways the end of another Browns season is like treating wastewater

The Cleveland Browns' stadium has 85 restrooms, and we have treated their wastewater every year since their return in 1999. It gives is a unique perspective on the team's foundation, and we found five parallels between the end of another season and the work it takes to clean very dirty water.


The last thing you see is messy.
This season was the fourth straight in which the Cleveland Browns played its final game starting a third-string quarterback. And it ended messy. In water terms, once the water has been used at your homes—for washing, bathing, or flushing—it's dirty, and you want to get rid of it. Flush it, forget it, and move on. You can trust us to take it from there.

Despite the temptation, there are things you shouldn't flush.
The recurring desire to flush your tickets, quarterback jerseys, or dreams for championships may be strong, but don't do it. There are things on our "Do not flush" list for a reason. Stay strong and make the right decisions.

Improvement is a process.
Browns owner Jimmy Haslam was quick to say after Sunday's game that there would be change, and there is no such thing as a quick fix. Changing sewage into clean water is no quick-fix either. But one good thing about our process is it takes about 24 hours, considerably less than a search for a GM and head coach.

Is your money going down the drain?
Long-time Cleveland sports fans regularly scratch their heads in despair, asking "What are we getting for our investment?" We know customers may ask the same thing when they pay their sewer bills, which is why we offer our social media accounts, annual Open House, Infrastructure Week, and more to help answer those questions. Your sewer bill is money down the drain in a way, but it's an investment in a system that ensures a Great Lake, something you can believe in well beyond football season.

The cycle continues. 
The water cycle, much like the Cleveland coaching cycle, goes on and on and on and on and on. We have faith in a Browns turnaround. If a river can catch fire 13 times and come back from that, maybe "next year" will be here sooner than we think.

Photo by Erik Drost – Creative Commons License

HISTORY: This viral list of 1915 facts is full of lies. Except the ones about water.

Turns out this viral list of 1915 "facts" rounding out 2015 is actually a fake, filled with untruths and misleading statements. But FWIW, it turns out the few about water are indeed true.

Gizmodo's Factually posted a breakdown of the list, a graphic that has made its internet rounds back in 2002 and 2006 with very few changes beyond a Photoshopped date. Based on the 1915 fact-checking, the water statements as shown below turn out to be true.

Only 14 percent of homes had a bathtub.
If this is referring to tubs with running water, that's probably true. The Cleveland Division of Water has been around in some form since the 1850s but even in 1915 its service was only beginning to reach beyond the city of Cleveland. In terms of sewers, a primary pipe taking sewage away from the city was not constructed until 1905 (and until a treatment plant was constructed in 1933, that sewage simply dumped out into Lake Erie).

A mechanical engineer could make about $5,000 per year.
Engineering is a huge part of water infrastructure generally, and that's true in our case. For comparisons today, a civil engineer starting annual salary averages $62,000.

Women only washed their hair once a month.
But we assume all of us are washing our hair more frequently in 2016, since on average Americans use 80-100 gallons of water per day.

Diarrhea was one of the six leading causes of death.
Sanitation improvements in the first half of the 1900s made tremendous strides in public health. Around the world, sanitation remains a huge concern: Diarrhea is still accountable for 20% of the six leading causes of child deaths worldwide.

Canned beer hadn't been invested yet.
True, it was not invented until 1935. And when we talk beer, we always say drink responsibly and flush responsibly.

WATCH: When we sense a disturbance in the Force, things tend to get messy. #StarWars

We don't think this is the Force George Lucas or J.J. Abrams had in mind. Still, clean water wouldn't be the same without it.

Our own treatment-plant Jedi Christen Wood shows us how force and the rarely-seen sludge "explosion" helps keep a sewer line clear and gives the Death Star's demise a run for its money.

RELATED STORIES:

• SPACE: How do astronauts pee in outer space?
• STAR WARS: "The flush awakens," 9 questions about Star Wars, sewers and sanitation
• TECH: How do toilets work on the International Space Station?

SPACE: "May the force pee with you," water recycling on the Space Station

It may not be a Star Wars galaxy far far away, but when astronauts are far from home, water is a life force.

Astronaut Chris Hadfield shows us how the water flows on the International Space Station, featuring a closed-loop treatment system in which the water astronauts use—even their wastewater—is recycled and made safe for drinking.

Many on earth are surprised to learn the water they flush is treated in a similar—but much larger—water cycle: The same water that flows down your toilet ultimately makes its way back to the environment, the common source for your drinking water at home. In Cleveland, the water cycle includes Lake Erie where we discharge treated water and from which Cleveland Water draws its clean-water supply.

It's the same cycle. The Space Station's is just much further from home.

RELATED STORIES:

• SPACE: How do astronauts pee in outer space?
• STAR WARS: "The flush awakens," 9 questions about Star Wars, sewers and sanitation
• TECH: How do toilets work on the International Space Station?

HEALTH: 6 facts about #WorldToiletDay as told through emojis

November 19 is World Toilet Day, drawing attention to the sanitation and clean-water challenges that affect 1 of every 3 people on earth. The statistics bear this out, and the facts are worth talking about.

Here are 6 ways to do so without words.

WATCH: The not-so-terrifying but very creepy-cool tunnels deep under Southerly / #h2olloween

Some of the access tunnels in the bowels of the Southerly Wastewater Treatment Plant in Cuyahoga Heights date back to the plant's grand opening in 1928.

Operator Christen Wood took us for a quick tour of the sprawling and sometimes spooky underground system, just in time for Halloween.

EVENT: Sewer University #SewerU now enrolling, your 101 course for Northeast Ohio's sewer history and water future

VIEW THE SLIDEDECK. If you missed it, you can register for our next SewerU January 26.

All participants graduate sewer cum laude with a Business major and a minor in puns.

Have you ever wondered where "it" goes in Northeast Ohio? If so, register for our first ever Sewer University (#SewerU) Tuesday, November 10 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m at our Environmental & Maintenance Services Center, 4747 E. 49th Street in Cuyahoga Heights [map].

DOWNLOADS: View the slidedeck / Download PDF 

RELATED NEWS: LISTEN: WMMS host Alan Cox loves the idea. Not sure about his #SewerU football team suggestions, though.

This half-day journey into the history of sewers and the future of clean water in Greater Cleveland will take place at the Sewer District’s Environmental & Maintenance Services Center located at 4747 East 49th Street in Cuyahoga Heights [map].

Frank Greenland, Director of Watershed Programs and a 27-year Sewer District veteran, will lead the two-hour discussion and Q&A session, which will include:

• History of sewers across northeast Ohio
• Why the river burned many times before 1969
• How dirty water gets cleaned
• Stormwater, flooding and monitoring water quality
• The designs and dangers of sewer systems
• Infrastructure: Why gray and green matter
• The costs of clean water and a Great Lake

SERIES: Follow the flow of h2o in Cleveland with #ValueWater, @neorsd and @ClevelandWater

The Value of Water reports each of us use more than 100 gallons of water in a single day. Where does it come from, and where does it go? and what would it be like if the resources or the systems that make it possible didn't exist?

This month's Imagine A Day Without Water campaign concludes with our tour of the urban water cycle in Cleveland. Our water partners Cleveland Water manage the drinking water side of the cycle while we take care of the wastewater. Through our combined efforts and infrastructure, our agencies deliver and collect hundreds of millions of gallons of water every single day.

Every hour today, we'll focus on a different aspect of the urban water cycle, and bring you the stats and stories that connect our work to your lives. Check some of the updates below.

NEWS: CLEvsPIT rivalry, @neorsd faced @alcosanWWTP and clean water was the winner

Open House attendance increase tops 228% over last year as two sewer districts compete in Open House visitors, social media

Mark the Mad Scientist amazed guests at Saturday's record-setting Open House.

With the help of our 1,725 guests last Saturday, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District flushed Pittsburgh! Attendance at the 8th Annual Open House was 228 percent higher than last year's, sweeping the 5.12 percent attendance boost by Alcosan (the regional sewer district in Pittsburgh).

A friendly contest was held between the two agencies to determine which event, both held on the same day, would draw higher attendance numbers. The results came in Tuesday, and both utilities had numbers to be proud of.

• Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District
• 2014: 525 attendees
• 2015: 1,725 attendees
• Percentage increase: 228% (Greatest increase)
• Alcosan
• 2014: 1,915 attendees
• 2015: 2,013 attendees (Highest attendance)
• Percentage increase: 5.12%

RIVALRY: Pittsburgh vs. Cleveland? Clean water is the business, but this could get dirty 9/19. #neorsdTOUR

We're taking the Cleveland/Pittsburgh rivalry off the field and into the water.

The Sewer District's Open House is Saturday, September 19, the same day Pittsburgh's Allegheny County Sanitary Authority ALCOSAN hosts their annual event. The two agencies will go head-to-head in a battle of attendance and social media.

RSVP: Join us at our September 19 Open House, and register early for a chance to win a prize pack!

Both @neorsd and @alcosanWWTP hope to draw well over a thousand guests each, but bragging rights will go to the winner with

• Highest overall attendance
• Greatest increase over 2014's event attendance
• Most event mentions on social media September 19

"Treating wastewater is our business," said Jeannie Chapman, @neorsd Manager of Community & Media Relations, "but there's sure to be a little trash talking come Saturday."

We encourage our social media followers on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to mention our accounts or #neorsdTOUR to support your Cleveland wastewater treatment authority. And if you throw in any Pittsburgh jokes, be creative, at least try to keep them like our treated water: Clean.

GRIT: The @Cavs had it, but what is it? #ALLinCLE

Photo via @ridgej

Despite The Plain Dealer's headline June 17, we believe the Cavs had grit all playoffs long. But if they're looking for more heading into next season, we have plenty.

In sports, grit is toughness, attitude and heart. In the clean-water industry, grit is different but it's a major part of the wastewater treatment process. As wastewater flows into the treatment plant, it is slowed down in large tanks that allow solid particles like sand and gravel to settle out. Those settled abrasive particles, known as grit, are removed to ensure equipment runs smoothly.

Here's a closer look.

PHOTO: Kids write the darnedest things.

When kids start clearing their desks at the end of the school year, parents never know what to expect.

We were sent a photo of kindergartener Nicholas' worksheet about the five senses, and we know for a fact our plant operators can relate to his sense of smell. Chances are his teacher gave him either an A, or an "Ew."

Related stories:

• EVENT: Tour a treatment plant September 19 at our Open House
• SMELLS: Making scents of the wastewater treatment process

RECAP: "It's kind of amazing what exists under a manhole cover." #FollowTheFlow

In a whirlwind of scents, sludge, and sights seen by few other eyes, Infrastructure Week last week allowed visitors and followers an underground behind-the-scenes look at the sewers that help make clean water possible.

"It's kind of amazing what exists under a manhole cover," as WCPN's Anne Glausser put it as she peered down the century-old depths of a brick-and-mortar sewer line. And those are the reactions our #FollowTheFlow events were designed to inspire.

NEWS: Could sewage be mined for gold? May also be great excuse to grow awesome beards.

Could human waste really be a source of valuable metals? Recent studies have shown potential, but realizing said potential is still a long way off in all likelihood.

The Huffington Post reported on a study that said human waste may be filled with microscopic particles of gold, silver, platinum, and copper, not to mention several other "nuisance" metals like lead.

More specifically, if these particles—measuring less than 1/100th the width of a human hair—are in human waste or at least entering the sewer system by other means, then they'd eventually make their way to wastewater treatment plants, according to studies, and could thereby be harvested for possible reuse, reduce the needs for mining, and also benefit the environment.

Working where we do, we asked a few of our experts.

"While it's an interesting idea," said our Westerly Wastewater Treatment Plant Superintendent Frank Foley, when asked if there was any chance we could be sitting on a literal gold mine in our collection system, "I’m not sure if we currently have information that would allow us to quantify the amount of precious metals in our ash."

Westerly Wastewater Treatment Plant, Cleveland

Ash is the byproduct of the incineration that manages the "biosolids," organic materials left over from the wastewater treatment process.

He continued: "Another key, stated in the articles is that there would be a cost to extracting the metals from the ash. That would also have to be quantified to determine if it would be worth attempting to recover any of the material." Research presented in Denver this week said the recovery of these metals using current technology "may not be commercially viable."

Translation: Waaaaay too expensive.

Precious metals like these are not in our treatment plant permit limits, says Senior Environmental Specialist Elizabeth Toot-Levy, so we don't monitor for them. That makes an assessment more difficult. And while we do monitor industries like plating companies to make sure they are not discharging metals to the waste stream, one we have spoken to in the past about gold plating stated it takes extra precautions to ensure that their precious products are not flushed away.

So could sewage be a future source of the metals that make their way into our cell phones and computers? Time and further study will tell. In the meantime, we'll keep our eyes on what does flow into our plant, because you never know what you'll find.

PROFILE: From veterinary medicine to sewage treatment, here's how Christen "fell in love" with her unexpected career

A former lab analyst and now Wastewater Plant Operator, Christen Wood’s career path has led her from veterinary medicine to sewage treatment. We asked her about opportunities in Wastewater Operations.

How did you get into wastewater?

I sort of fell into it! The local paper ran a column on the “brain drain” in Ashtabula, why we weren’t able to get qualified candidates into jobs there. I wrote a thank-you letter to the editor for covering the topic, and as soon as the letter ran, the Ashtabula wastewater treatment plant called me and said, “We need you to apply now."

LOOK: Treatment-plant steam coats trees with icy crystals

A winter wastewater wonderland?

When the temps drop below freezing and the wastewater flowing through our treatment plants' outdoor tanks is a near-constant 50ºF, the result is a whole lotta steam cascading across the plant landscape. Southerly Operator Christen Wood sent us a beautiful photo of the result.

The steam freezes to nearby trees. The ice crystals didn't last long, though; she sent a follow-up photo a few short hours later after the sunrise.

RELATED STORIES:

• WOW: Bubbling tanks, frigid temps result in wondrous icy landscape
• NEWS: Does Lake Erie's freezing trend mean more algae in the summer?