Michael Scott
Plain Dealer Reporter
Even after three decades of clean-water efforts, they remain
Northeast Ohio's unwholesome trinity - summer storms, sewage overflows and
swimming in Lake Erie.
And this week - on the day our beaches were named
worst in the nation for dangerous bacteria - an overflow pipe at Edgewater Park
blasted millions of gallons of a mixture of untreated sewage and storm water
directly into the lake.
Edgewater was closed to swimming for two days,
and other local beaches shut down or posted warnings - a putrid punctuation mark
to a summer that has gone from drought to drenching rains.
National
report critical:
Tuesday's report released by the Natural Resources
Defense Council said 22 percent of Ohio's beach water samples last year exceeded
state bacterial standards - more than any other state.
Health advisory
days at all Lake Erie beaches went from 182 in 2005 to 629 in 2006. The worst
were Villa Angela, which failed 44 percent of the time; Euclid Creek (42
percent); and Huntington Beach in Bay Village (32 percent).
For the full
report, go to nrdc.org/water/oceans/ttw/titinx.asp.
A 2005
study by Environment Ohio said Lake Erie and its basin take in more than 10
billion gallons of sewage every year.
Health warnings:
Sewage
carries fecal-borne bacteria and germs that can cause vomiting, diarrhea, fevers
and stomach cramps, officials said. It can also contain viruses and
parasites.
The Natural Resources Defense Council report did credit the
Cuyahoga County Health Department and Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District for
regularly testing lake waters and notifying the public of bacteria
problems.
Most agencies in other states wait for the results of a
resample or check other conditions before taking action, the report
said.
Reporting statewide may soon get better: State Rep. Scott
Oelslager, a Canton Republican, introduced legislation this spring that would
require public notification of all sewage overflows.
How sewage gets to
the lake:
Studies blame bacteria-laden waters on "combined sewer
overflows" - the mixing of waste water and storm water during heavy rains in
Cleveland and many of the older inner-ring suburbs.
"No question, they
are a major contributor," said Frank Greenland of the Northeast Ohio
Regional Sewer District, which oversees sewers in Cleveland and 60
suburbs.
In dry weather, sewage goes through a treatment plant before it
reaches the lake. But when storm sewers overflow in heavy rainstorms, that storm
water can spill into waste lines and overwhelm the treatment plant's capacity,
sending the dirty mix right into the lake.
Improvements made:
The
sewer district has spent about $900 million over the last 20 years to alleviate
that problem, with significant success, Greenland said
Two overflows at
Edgewater this week, for example, were the first in two years from that
pipe.
Before the district built an overflow holding facility, "that pipe
would overflow maybe 50 or 60 times a summer," Greenland said.
The
district expects to spend $2 billion more in coming decades on the overflow
problem.
Those plans won't address storm water flowing from
still-developing Northeast Ohio suburbs with separate sewage and storm water
pipes.
"Bacteria can also get into the waterways in areas where the
sewers aren't combined. It can be runoff from farms, pets, yards, all sorts of
things," Greenland said.
More improvements coming:
Which is
leading to the sewer district's next step - persuading communities to let the
district manage improvements to their storm water systems.
Greenland said
he expects it "to be a very public discussion, because everyone cares about the
beaches" - but also about their wallets.
"We're just now floating the
idea," he said. "But storm water-related problems are growing over time, and
we've got to address them if we want a clean lake."
To reach this Plain
Dealer reporter:
mscott@plaind.com, 216-999-4148
