LIST: Friday's 13 fears of water, storms, lakes, and fish

Our clean-water work should inspire confidence in the community, but we found there are also many phobias associated with many aspects of our daily duties. Here are 13 we found.

OPEN HOUSE: 7 memes show why your kids would love to tour a wastewater plant (#neorsdTOUR)

Spend a Saturday visiting a wastewater treatment plant? Any number of memes might capture your initial reaction to that opportunity, but here's why considering that September 27 is not as crazy as you think.

1. WOW factor.

Many kids and adults don't think about what happens to the water that flows down the drain. That water gets cleaned and released to the lake, the same source of our drinking water. At our tour, you'll be able to see the processes at work to clean your wastewater safely.

2. Fishing v2.0

We collect and study fish in local streams to be monitor water quality. But our electrofishing boats don't use rods and reels. They use electricity to stun the fish so we can net and study them before releasing them safely. We'll show you how it works.

EVENT: One journey ends, another begins as Mackenzie will make her way back to the surface

 

Mac's on her way back to the surface starting Monday.

More than one year ago, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District’s tunnel boring machine, named “Mackenzie,” began excavating the Euclid Creek Tunnel. Mackenzie has successfully mined and lined 18,000 feet of 24-foot diameter tunnel 200 feet below ground, and her work is complete ahead of schedule and under budget.

On Monday, September 9, Mackenzie’s 150-ton, 27-foot diameter cutter head will be lifted out of the exit shaft near the intersection of Nottingham Road and St. Clair Avenue. Later that day, the cutter head will return to the main construction site in Bratenahl.

UPDATE: Watch the video of Mac's cutter head returning to the surface in the clip above.

You can #TrackMac's progress Monday by following our @neorsd and @WallyWaterdrop Twitter accounts for live #TrackMac tweets from the site.

EVENT: Sewer District to solicit public input for Slavic Village project

What will "green" mean on Fleet Avenue? We'll talk about it September 11.

On Wednesday, September 11, at 6 p.m., the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District will host a meeting for Slavic Village residents and business owners to discuss a new green infrastructure project, the Fleet Avenue Green Infrastructure Project, located at the intersection of E. 53 St. and Fleet Ave. The meeting will take place at the Polish-American Cultural Center (6501 Lansing Ave., Cleveland). The Fleet Avenue Green Infrastructure Project is a component of the City of Cleveland’s Fleet Avenue Rehabilitation Project

“The Sewer District’s green infrastructure improvements on Fleet Avenue will be a win-win for us,” said Ben Campbell, Slavic Village Development. “Our community will benefit from having a new, attractive greenspace on Fleet and the environmental benefits are shared with the entire region.”

VIDEO: Is blasting like surgery? Understanding the safety, precision of controlled explosions

 

We think the comparison works best only in one direction.

If a doctor comes to you and explains his surgery is going to be like an explosion, be anxious. But when a construction manager says an explosion is going to be like surgery, that's different and definitely more comforting.

Lucky for us, Bob's the construction manager, not the surgeon.

We are using controlled blasting to excavate access shafts along our Euclid Creek Tunnel, a major piece of our Project Clean Lake program. This video was shot during a blast last week at our Easterly Wastewater Treatment Plant in Cleveland. Bob Auber explains what the shaft does, why blasting is the safest and most economical way to make our way 200 feet underground, and the precision he's seen over 25 years that made him compare the excavation to surgery.

Related: Mackenzie completes her 18,000-foot underground journey

NEWS: August 26 is our favorite day. Evah.

Photo by flickr user [xinita]

We are hereby marking our calendars for every August 26 for years to come.

Your NEORSD bloggers have learned that today, August 26, is National Dog Day, raising awareness of pet adoption and rescue efforts. At the same time, we were amazed to learn August 26 is also National Toilet Paper Day.

What a glorious combination for us, and here's why.

Our business is wastewater treatment, so obviously drawing attention to the sanitary staple that is toilet paper is of great interest to us. Secondarily, as we raise awareness of water quality and public health, pet waste has become a great carrier of our clean-water message, most notably through our Pick Up Poop! (PUP) campaign.

The fact that both topics are of national significance on the same day comes as a welcome opportunity for dialogue.

Huzzah for August 26.

NEWS: Boring hasn't been this exciting for a long time as Mackenzie breaks through

At 1:27 a.m. Wednesday, Mackenzie saw a light she hadn't seen in more than a year.

Mackenzie, the 1,500-ton tunnel boring machine drilling the three-mile-long Euclid Creek Tunnel 200 feet under Cleveland, broke through the shale at shaft 5, marking the end of her boring—but very exciting—journey.

While the tunnel boring machine is finished, the Euclid Creek Tunnel still has much work ahead. The tunnel will not be complete until 2015 as the lining and ongoing preparation is complete. When finished, the Euclid Creek Tunnel—one of seven huge Project Clean Lake tunnels—will hold 60 million gallons of sewage and stormwater and reduce pollution entering Lake Erie.

Phew. #neorsdECT pic.twitter.com/OOMfNRFmJC
— Mackenzie (@MackenzieTBM) August 22, 2013

It's official! @MackenzieTBM has completed her 3 mile journey, 200 ft underground for @neorsd's #euclidcreektunnel pic.twitter.com/UmWtJoI1ca
— Kellie Rotunno (@KellieRotunno) August 22, 2013

Video and details will be added as they become available.

LINK: What causes that after-the-rain smell? Scientists have a theory.

We open windows after a summer rain. Not only is the air cooler, it has a tangible freshness to it, a certain smell that is unique to the post-storm experience.

And scientists have theorized about where that smell comes from.

io9 says the aroma's basic ingredients are [deep breath] ozone and bacteria spores.

Ozone is made up of three oxygen atoms linked together. io9 goes on:

Ozone is sometimes used to kill off odors, especially smoky and moldy odors. The clean scent after a rainfall is partially caused by ozone cleaning away some of the scents we take for granted. Ozone also has a scent all its own. Some say it's like geraniums, but others compare it to a light bleach scent.