Clean Water News

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Columbus, Ohio: A new report “Sewage Overflow: Billions of Gallons of Sewage Contaminate Lake Erie” released today by Environment Ohio reveals that more than ten billion gallons of sewage contaminated Lake Erie and waterways in the Lake Erie watershed basin from January 2005 – December 2005. 

“We should be doing everything possible to keep sewage out of our waterways and protect public health,” stated Amy Gomberg, Environmental Advocate with Environment Ohio. “We support Representative Oelslager’s legislation which is a big step towards protecting the health of Ohioans and cleaning up our sewage pollution.”

Untreated sewage contains health threatening bacteria, viruses and parasites such as E. coli, Salmonella and Hepatitis A.  Exposure to these pathogens through ingestion or contact via the eyes, ears or skin can cause a host of illnesses including gastrointestinal illnesses, infectious Hepatitis, damage to the liver, kidneys and spleen and even death.  Children and the elderly are the most vulnerable to exposure to the bacteria and viruses present in untreated sewage.

“Sewage pollution is a threat to public health and our environment. The contaminants found in untreated sewage lead to water quality degradation, beach advisories, wildlife destruction, and human health problems,” stated Dr. Tim Buckley, the Division chair of The Ohio State Universities Environmental Health Sciences Department. “Lake Erie is arguably Ohio’s most valuable natural resource.  I encourage everyone to support all efforts to prevent raw sewage from entering Lake Erie and all of Ohio’s waterways.”

Lake Erie’s sewage pollution contributes to unsafe levels of bacteria at many Ohio beaches. From 2000-2005 water sample tests taken at 21 of Ohio’s Lake Erie beaches found unsafe levels of E. Coli in about one of every six tests. The tests taken at Century Beach in Lorain were deemed unsafe over 80% of the time, at Camp Perry in Port Clinton over 70% of the time, and Edgewater State Park in Cleveland over 50% of the time.

“Ohio cannot find a solution to sewage pollution without proper information,” stated Ellen Hawkey, Conservation Program Manager, Ohio Sierra Club. “Notifying the public of sewage overflows will provide the necessary information to keep our communities safe and healthy.”

Environment Ohio’s report analyzes thirty-eight out of the fifty-two communities in the Lake Erie Watershed Basin that are built with combined sewer systems, which allow untreated sewage to overflow into their waterways.  Combined sewer systems attempt to treat rainwater and sewage.  During moderate to heavy rainfall the combined systems take in more wastewater than the treatment plants can handle.  When this occurs sewage either gets backed up, or is diverted away from the plant directly into a local waterway.  The thirty-eight studied communities discharged over ten billion gallons of untreated sewage to Lake Erie and waterways that feed into Lake Erie, in 2005 alone. 

Of all of the communities surveyed in the report, Toledo, Fremont, Sandusky, and the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) which manages the sewage for Cleveland, were the biggest polluters, dumping over eight billion gallons of sewage into Lake Erie and waterways that feed into the lake such as the Cuyahoga and Maumee rivers (see Table 1 on page 11 of the report for the complete list of communities surveyed). 

Environment Ohio’s report also shows that the Ohio EPA does not require wastewater treatment facilities to consistently monitor sewage discharges, report them to the Ohio EPA or notify the public when health threatening sewage flows into a local waterway. According to the Clean Water Act, the Ohio EPA should be enforcing mandatory guidelines for sewage treatment plants to monitor and report sewage discharges as well as immediately notifying the public when combined sewer overflows occur. 

Today, Representative Oelslager (R-51) introduced legislation that would give the public the right to know when sewage is dumped into their waterways. "Ohioans deserve to know if their health is at risk" said Rep. Oelslager.  “This legislation is a simple, easy step towards protecting public health from sewage pollution in Ohio.”

Rep. Oelslager’s legislation has already received broad bi-partisan support, with 19 additional co-sponsors including: Dyer (D-Portage/Summit), J. McGregor (R-Franklin), Wolpert (R-Franklin), Hughes (R-Franklin), B. Williams (D-Akron), Chandler (D-Portage), Evans (R-Jackson), Stebleton (R-Fairfield), Hottinger (R-Licking), Patton (R-Cuyahoga), Foley (D-Cuyahoga), Koziura (D-Lorain), Healy (D-Stark), Peterson (R-Delaware), Okey (D-Carroll), Strahorn (D-Montgomery), R. Hagan (D-Youngstown), Brinkman (R-Hamilton), Harwood (D-Trumbull).

“Ohio’s rivers and lakes are one of our greatest natural resources, and they should be protected from untreated sewage,” said State Representative Jim Hughes (R-Columbus). “This legislation will help ensure that our waterways remain safe and clean so they can be enjoyed by humans and wildlife for years to come.”

House Bill 235 requires sewage treatment utilities to report to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Health, the media and the public when sewage overflows from their system. 

Sewage pollution in Ohio is a concern to many environmental, fishing, boating, and other public interest groups. Joining Environment Ohio in support of Representative Oelslager’s legislation include: The Ohio League of Conservation Voters, Sierra Club, Ohio Game Fishing LLC, Ohio Bass Chapter Federation, Ohio Division of the Izaak Walton League of America, National Wildlife Federation, North Coast Charter Boat Association, Rivers Unlimited, American Rivers, Ohio Environmental Council, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, Western Lake Erie Waterkeeper, Ohio Parks and Recreation Association, Ohio Farmers Union, Buckeye Forest Council, and the Green Environmental Coalition.

“Sewage overflows into our water supply are a huge problem that demands a solution,” stated Bill DeMora of the Ohio League of Conservation Voters. “This bill is a great first-step towards solving the problem, and I'm glad that Rep. Oelslager and a bi-partisan group of co-sponsors are ready to step up to the plate and give Ohioans the information they need to help keep their families safe"

In addition to Representative Oelslager’s legislation, Environment Ohio recommends the following solutions:

• Communities need to incorporate technologies that will help prevent excessive storm water from flooding our sewer systems.  With more control over the storm water that enters our combined sewer systems, there will be less sewage overflowing into our waterways.

• State and federal officials need to support more funding for sewage infrastructure improvements that strive toward the elimination of sewage overflows, such as the separation of septic and storm sewage systems.

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Environment Ohio is a non profit, non partisan, environmental advocacy organization.
Learn more about our work at www.environmentohio.org

 
Contact Information:

State Representative Oelslager
District 51
614-752-2438
District51@ohr.state.oh.us
 

Dr. Tim Buckley
OSU School of Public Health, Division Chair of Environmental Health Sciences
Phone: (614) 293-7161
tbuckley@sph.osu.edu