STORMWATER: District attempts to settle program dispute with opposing parties

On June 7, 2012, the Sewer District filed a Report to the Court in the case of Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District vs. Bath Township, Ohio, et al. (CV-10-714945). In this report, the Sewer District officially responded and agreed to amend its Stormwater Management Code to make changes to the Regional Stormwater Management Program as requested by Judge Thomas J. Pokorny in his February 15 ruling. At the June 7 Board Meeting, the Sewer District’s Board of Trustees approved issuing the proposed Stormwater Management Code changes to all Member Communities for a 30-day comment period.

The most notable proposed change to the Regional Stormwater Management Program is the Community Cost-Share provision, which has been increased from 7.5 percent of fees collected annually from each member community to “no less than 25 percent.” Member communities can apply for these funds from the Sewer District and use the funds for local stormwater-related projects including construction, operation and maintenance of their local stormwater systems; projects that assist communities with EPA requirements; equipment purchases; and projects necessary to mitigate separate sanitary sewer overflow problems.

STORMWATER: Proposed stormwater-code revisions open for comment through July 10

The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District is proposing modifications to Title V, the section of the District’s Code of Regulations addressing the Regional Stormwater Management Program. These changes are made to bring Title V in compliance with Judge Pokorny’s Opinion dated February 15, 2012, to comply with the terms of settlement agreements and to address, in some instances, concerns raised by various opposition parties in post-trial discussions.

[Download Title V with proposed changes]

If you have any comments on the proposed changes, please provide written comments by July 10, 2012 by following the instructions on page 2 of the proposal.

CONSTRUCTION: Sewer project to close two lanes on Lakeshore Blvd.

Beginning this week, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District will begin installation of a new sewer along Lakeshore Boulevard. This relief sewer, designed to reduce flooding in the area, will require temporary closure of two westbound lanes along Lakeshore Boulevard between East 156 Street and Sycamore Street. Drivers should anticipate delays.

To minimize traffic interruptions, this sewer work will be performed in small sections at a time, working west to east along Lakeshore Boulevard. During construction along each segment, the northernmost two lanes of Lakeshore Boulevard will be closed to vehicular traffic. Construction is expected to last three months.

BY THE NUMBERS: Mackenzie's a machine that's anything but boring

Mackenzie is the name of the huge tunnel digger that will burrow the route of the Euclid Creek Tunnel, a major piece of our Project Clean Lake efforts. Here are some of the stats about the project and the equipment.

About the Euclid Creek Tunnel

The Euclid Creek Tunnel is a $197 million project that will capture combined sewage (a mixture of wastewater and stormwater) and store it until it can be pumped out and treated at the Easterly Wastewater Treatment Plant. The Euclid Creek Tunnel—located approximately 200 feet below ground—will be 24 feet in diameter and nearly three miles long when complete. It will hold 52 million gallons of combined sewage at a time.

What is the purpose of the tunnel boring machine?

A tunnel boring machine, or TBM, cuts through rock. This is the piece of equipment used to excavate the 18,000-foot long tunnel. This TBM is “single pass,” which means that after it cuts through the bedrock, it also places lining segments into place so that the tunnel is fully lined and watertight. It will cut a path 27 feet in diameter and, when the lining segments are in place and grouted, the finished diameter of the tunnel will be 24 feet.

EUCLID CREEK TUNNEL: Mackenzie prepares to make her three-mile journey

The cutterhead for Ohio’s largest tunnel boring machine, named “Mackenzie,” will begin its descent into Shaft 1 of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District’s Euclid Creek Tunnel on Friday, June 1. That morning, public officials and local media professionals will visit the Sewer District’s construction site in Bratenahl for an up-close and personal look at this impressive piece of machinery.

We will post photos of the equipment and crowd before Mackenzie enters the access shaft. We also will cover the event as the 300,000 pound cutter head is lifted by a crane and lowered 200 feet underground. Mackenzie will not be seen aboveground again until 2014 when nearly three miles of the Euclid Creek Tunnel is mined and she emerges near the intersection of Nottingham Road and St. Clair Avenue.

CONSTRUCTION: Trenching work to begin along Lakeshore during week of June 4

Beginning the week of June 4, Sewer District contractors will begin the latest phase of Euclid Creek Tunnel construction along Lakeshore Boulevard from East 156th Street to Sycamore Street.

The work includes open-cut construction methods in which a trench is dug along Lakeshore Boulevard, new sewer pipe is installed, the trench is filled, and the road is repaired.

To minimize traffic interruptions, this sewer work will be performed in small sections at a time, working from west to east. During each segment, the northernmost two lanes of Lakeshore will be closed to vehicular traffic. Construction is expected to last a total of three months.

The Euclid Creek Tunnel—a major component of Project Clean Lake—is a $197 million project to reduce pollution entering Lake Erie during heavy storms. 

If you have any questions about this phase of the project, leave us a comment below.

EUCLID CREEK TUNNEL: All you need to know in one easy pin

Our Euclid Creek Tunnel is one of several huge projects underway on the east side of Cleveland. This image we posted on Pinterest has the latest information and a fine overview to give you the project basics. For copies of this information as a handy information card, send us a request at community at neorsd dot org.

UPDATE: Sewer District assists in fish-kill investigation along Rocky River

"We’ll continue to work on this until we exhaust all our leads. We are working with other entities as well. Cleveland Metroparks, Ohio EPA, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, everyone is working together to try and figure this one out." Sewer District Director of Watershed Programs Frank Greenland spoke to several media outlets this afternoon regarding the ongoing investigation of the possible fish kill along a stretch of Rocky River in the Cleveland Metroparks. The District is collecting water samples to aid in the investigation.

Here are stories that ran this evening on WKYC, WEWS and FOX8. UPDATE 2012 5/1: The Strongville Post featured a story in today's edition.