Aaron Marshall
Plain Dealer Bureau
Columbus- More than 10 billion gallons of untreated raw sewage were dumped
into Lake Erie from dozens of communities in
2005, according to a report an environmental group released Wednesday morning.
"Ten billion gallons of sewage floating into Lake
Erie is equivalent to 3 billion toilets flushing into the
lake," said Amy Gomberg, a spokeswoman for Environment Ohio, a nonprofit
group that presented its study at a Statehouse news conference. "Sewage
contamination poses an environmental threat to Lake Erie
and a health threat to the millions who swim, boat and fish in it each
year."
The problem stems from sewer overflows that allow the raw sewage to pass
into waterways during heavy rains. Cleveland, Toledo, Fremont, Sandusky and Akron were the
top offenders in the report, with Cleveland's
regional sewer system alone dumping almost 5 billion gallons of untreated
sewage into Lake Erie in 2005. In all, 38
communities in the Lake Erie water basin are
built with combined sewer systems, which discharge untreated sewage and storm
water into waterways when it rains.
Joining Gomberg at the news conference was Rep. Scott Oelslager, a Canton
Republican, who will introduce legislation this week calling for public
notification of sewage overflows.
"It's so your children and yourself aren't swimming in something that
you would have no idea what's in the water," he said. "It's a
notification bill and a right to know bill."
Under the legislation, municipalities that dump untreated sewage into
waterways would have 24 hours to notify the media. A warning sign would be
posted at the site where the sewage had been dumped, and monthly reports on the
sewage overflows would be mandatory.
Tim Buckley, a professor at Ohio State University's
College of Public Health, said raw sewage can cause
gastrointestinal problems, hepatitis, liver failure, kidney failure and even
death.
Oelslager introduced a similar bill last session that never cleared
committee. With 17 co-sponsors on this bill, he said he likes his chances this
year.
