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Jenn Elting of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District stands in front of the combined sewer outfall at Edgewater Beach that can be activated during heavy rains.CLEVELAND, Ohio – On the evening of Aug. 23, near-record rains pummeled the Greater Cleveland area, inundating sewer pipes around the region, including one called the “northwest interceptor” that runs along the West Shoreway.
It’s an unsettling image - raw sewage, albeit diluted by stormwater - flowing directly into Lake Erie, especially at one of the area’s most popular beaches. But it happens on occasion and is expected to for years to come.The Edgewater outfall, located at the western end of the beach in an area reserved for both dogs and humans, has one of the highest levels of control among the 112 combined-sewer outfalls in the region, said Doug Lopata, design program manager at the sewer district.
The interceptor didn’t take the outfall at Edgewater Beach out of the equation altogether because it is still needed as a safety valve in case the Westerly plant is on the verge of being overwhelmed during a storm. But it greatly reduced the chances of overflow events at Edgewater, which had numbered in the dozens in a typical year but are now in the low single digits.
The third event, on Aug. 23, was by far the worst. The hatch flapped open for 40 minutes, resulting in the release of 2.7 million gallons of combined sewage, or enough to fill four Olympic-size pools.this was our Edgewater outfall tonight, recorded by our responding maintenance crew, the 3rd overflow here since July 10.
Still, improvements underway at the Westerly plant should continue to reduce the risk of a discharge at Edgewater. “So, it’s just that cost benefit of should the ratepayers pay for a higher level of control,” he said.
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