The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District plans to stop raw sewage from being discharged at Edgewater Beach in Cleveland.
The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District is working on a plan that would prevent sewage from discharging onto the beach at Edgewater Park during intense rain. The project would still have to be fully designed and constructed, but if it gets the go-ahead, it could be in place as soon as 2028.
The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District is working on a plan that would prevent sewage from discharging onto the beach at Edgewater Park during intense rain.. The project would still have to be fully designed and constructed, but if it gets the go-ahead, it could be in place as soon as 2028. “It would be something good for Northeast Ohio,” said Darnell Brown, former chief operator officer for the city of Cleveland and current chairman of the sewer district board. Cleveland has been plagued for decades by combined sewers that deliver stormwater and sanitary sewage through the same tunnels on their way to being treated. When a tunnel becomes overwhelmed, such as during an intense storm, a portion of the flow must be discharged into the environment at various relief points, including A giant iron flap in the hillside at Edgewater Park reveals where the outfall empties onto the western portion of the beach, an area where dogs are allowed with their humans. The rushing discharge erodes the sand on its way to Lake Erie. The sewage outfall at Edgewater dates to the 1880s and during the 1970s it experienced 40-50 overflows a year, but improvements to the system have greatly reduced that number. In fact, the outfall is not subject to the $3 billionStill, it’s a high-profile outfall at a public beach and the number of storms that can lead to sewage releases is expected to increase because of climate change. After an overflow at the beach, the sewer district issues an advisory against swimming that isn’t revoked until all 10 testing locations in the water show levels of E. coli bacteria are below acceptable levels. Every time there’s an overflow, “we all get the dreaded email, the dreaded phone call,” and then the news goes out to all the major media, said Doug Lopata, the sewer district’s program manager for combined-sewer overflows, during a presentation to the board.When a mixture of stormwater and sanitary sewage discharges from the outfall at Edgewater Beach it carves a channel to the water.A preliminary design of the project includes construction of a new 1,400-foot tunnel that would be 10-12 feet in diameter and capable of rerouting a sewage backup before it triggers a gate that sends the discharge rushing toward the beach and out into Lake Erie. Only in the past couple months did engineers discover a key design characteristic that will allow the new tunnel to serve as a floodplain of sorts, spreading out the sewage, rather than just a conduit for the flow, Lopata said. Lopata said he believes that once completed, the new configuration should prevent any more discharges at Edgewater. The sewer district preliminarily pegs the project cost at $20 million, but more steps are required before construction can begin. For one, Cleveland Metroparks needs to be on board, as construction will disrupt part of Edgewater Park. A meeting between the sewer district and Metroparks is scheduled for this month.“I lived this for a number of years as has everybody else,” said Brown, cautioning that the sewer district still must complete its due diligence of the project.this was our Edgewater outfall tonight, recorded by our responding maintenance crew, the 3rd overflow here since July 10.A previous plan studied by the sewer district would have extended the outfall tunnel out into the lake but it was abandoned because it would have cost $30 million and not have improved the quality of the water. If the latest idea moves ahead, the sewer district will ask engineering firms to submit proposals for developing a final design of the project, said sewer district spokeswoman Jenn Elting. Construction would then go out to bid, she said, estimated to happen in the third quarter of 2027, with completion of the project to occur some time in 2028.Sediment removal begins soon behind Gorge Dam on Cuyahoga RiverFreshwater jellyfish: How to see Lake Erie’s tiny oddities up close If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation.and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our
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