Clean Water In the News

By Gavin Off

Environmentalists and legislators want the state to know the answer to a question few are willing to ask:

"Where does poop go when a toilet flushes?"

One group says it knows.

Nearly 11 billion gallons of untreated sewage flowed into the Lake Erie basin during treatment-plant overflows in 2005, according to a report issued yesterday by Environment Ohio.

That's more than 3 billion toilet flushes, according to the Columbus-based nonprofit group.

Most of the overflows occur during storms.

Environment Ohio said it came up with the figure by reviewing Ohio Environmental Protection Agency records and those provided by communities along Lake Erie.

Amy Gomberg of Environment Ohio said the state does not routinely track these overflows.

The EPA says it is working with communities to end wastewater overflows.

At an Environment Ohio news conference yesterday, state Rep. W. Scott Oelslager, R-North Canton, announced plans to introduce a bill that would require sewage-treatment plants to report discharges to the EPA and the news media.

"Most people didn't have any idea," Oelslager said. "They assumed they flushed the toilet and the system took care of it."

Oelslager's bill would require sewage plants to report a discharge within 24 hours, detail its location, explain the health effects and provide contact information.

The EPA then would post information on its Web site.

Oelslager introduced a similar bill last year.

The Lake Erie basin is home to 52 communities, including Cleveland, the biggest polluter, according to Environment Ohio.

The group collected data for 38 communities.

Tim Buckley, chairman of Ohio State University's Division of Environmental Health Sciences, said exposure to untreated sewage could cause hepatitis, gastroenteritis, kidney failure and even death.

"The health threat is undisputed," Buckley said. "The good news is we know what the problem is and how to fix it."

Linda Fee Oros, a spokeswoman for the Ohio EPA, said the agency is working with communities to separate storm-water and sewage systems to prevent discharges.

goff@dispatch.com