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Oversalt much? A conversation with Amy Roskilly of Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District and Natalie Gertz-Young of Lake Soil & Water Conservation District on road salt use and overuse, and the impacts to our water resources.

The NEORSD supports our local Soil and Water Conservation Districts that participate in educational outreach related to water quality, stormwater management, and watershed management. These agencies offer stormwater-compliance services to communities and lead conservation actions.

Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District
Lake Soil & Water Conservation  District

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What's the most dangerous job at the Sewer District? 

Sewer District safety experts Carla DeSantis and Robin Halperin discuss the dangers inherent to wastewater treatment, what led them to pursue safety as their vocation, and approaches to building "safety culture" in the workplace. Plus: the ins and outs of lock-out/tag-out!

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The costs of wastewater treatment and maintaining our vast sewer and stormwater systems fall almost entirely on our ratepayers. With many residents struggling to pay their bills,  utilities must address affordability and also clearly communicate the services and benefits those utilities provide. We talk with Chief Administrative Officer Constance T. Haqq about the NEORSD's efforts to enroll eligible customers in its cost-saving programs.

Learn more about NEORSD Utility Assistance Resource Fairs

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Based in Cleveland, Ohio, Drink Local Drink Tap is an international non-profit organization focused on solving water equity and quality issues. Executive Director and Founder Erin Huber joins us to discuss her group's impactful projects in Uganda and the importance of finding even small, meaningful tasks to help us engage with water issues.

Visit https://drinklocaldrinktap.org/ to learn more.

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What is an "area of concern," or AOC?

Hannah Boesinger of the Ohio Lake Erie Commission talks about projects to restore fish habitat and address the "worst of the worst" legacy-pollution issues in the Cuyahoga River and other Great Lakes waterways.

For more information about the Lake Erie Commission, visit https://lakeerie.ohio.gov/

Note: the Ashtabula AOC was delisted in 2021:
https://www.epa.gov/great-lakes-aocs/ashtabula-river-aoc-delisted

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We asked Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne to join us for a discussion of his vision for a Freshwater Institute, some experiences from his days as City Planner, biking the Towpath Trail, and lessons learned from Lake Erie surfers and bird enthusiasts alike.

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We welcome Jenn Grieser and Sean McDermott from Cleveland Metroparks for an overview of our remarkable park system, restoration projects that we've partnered on, as well as ecology, conservation—and ziplines!

Learn more about the Metroparks at https://www.clevelandmetroparks.com/

Here's a great new video on the Watershed Stewardship Center in Parma, OH.

Want to get involved? Learn about the Watershed Volunteer Program here.

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Lili Fikter is the Education and Interpretation Coordinator at the Greater Cleveland Aquarium. She gives an overview of the Great Lakes and the Aquarium's work to make connections between their fish and animals and the local watersheds that support those species.

Learn more about the Aquarium at www.greaterclevelandaquarium.com

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We hope you locals have Saturday, September 23 on your calendars. It's our annual in-person "open house," the CLEAN WATER FEST in Cuyahoga Heights, Ohio. Community Relations Specialist Jessica Shutty stopped by to talk about what to expect at this year's Fest. Visit cleanwaterfest.com for a complete schedule and info. 

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CarrieAnne McConnell is Superintendent at the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District's Westerly Wastewater Treatment Plant. She has spent much of her life in and around water- and wastewater-treatment facilities . . . and even had her wedding photos taken at one!
 
Westerly is undergoing several construction projects to help it treat more wastewater flow during big rain events. CarrieAnne talks about those upgrades, the different types of wastewater-treatment processes that plants can utilize, the very worst of the bad smells, and the need to find and welcome a new generation of workers into this critical industry.

This episode includes a discussion of trickling filters and activated sludge, two different processes used to treat wastewater. Listeners unfamiliar with the basics of wastewater treatment may also want to check out our earlier episodes "How does a Wastewater Treatment Plant Work?" and "The Science of Sludge".

Acronyms used in this episode:
CSOTF: combined sewer overflow treatment facility
MGD: million gallons per day
CE-HRT: chemically-enhanced high rate treatment
BOD: biological oxygen demand, or the amount of dissolved oxygen needed by aerobic organisms to break down organic material in wastewater
TSS: total suspended solids, a measurement of the weight of suspended particles (i.e. not dissolved) in a water sample, when they are trapped by a filter