photo courtesy of morguefile by kevinrosseel

Could Clean Water Help NEO's Economy to Rebound?

About 4 years ago, I became involved with the discussion of economic development in Northeast Ohio. I was coaxed from behind a safe counter at Stone Oven Bakery and Cafe by Betsey Merkel (a regular customer) to a "Tuesday at REI". There I met an interesting and diverse group of individuals who were concerned about the region's economy and many who had big ideas for improving it.

I had already begun my own thinking on the subject and it went something like this: What's NEO's most precious and unique asset? Water - specifically the Cuyahoga River (and it's tributaries) and Lake Erie. If we can clean that up, people will want to live and work here - people who live and work here will be healthier and smarter. (I know; it is long term like investing in education.)

So I began my self-guided education about our water woes. Yes, yes, I knew the river burned and I knew that the Clean Water Act was passed because of that stimulus, but I also knew from being involved with a summer rowing league that we had a long way to go toward a clean Cuyahoga. EPA is there to target big offenders, but what about the rest of what was flowing into that waterway? Then I discovered the Combined Sewer Overflow(CSO). I am no sewer or water expert (remember self taught), but I can google. So what I learned was that these issues, though they do not make it into the Plain Dealer routinely, if ever, are perhaps the most insidious (like lead poisoning) issues facing our region.

Think about it. When climate change forces folks to move inland from coastal regions and when folks in arid regions are looking for a place to live and work because they have drained aquifers, where will they want to be? In a place with clean water. I posted back in 2007 here on realneo: water cycle issues, more water, golf inquiry, (Cleveland Metroparks is dedicated to their golf - youngsters lucky enough to get a job caring for those manicured greens are put to work delivering atrazine to the greens - nice) talking %#@t and many more posts that get back to the issue of water.

I discovered work going on in Portland and a fascinating video on their Willamette River and efforts to bring it back from being a sewer. I discovered Toronto and their amazing watershed recovery efforts. Then, in 2007, I attended the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) held here in Cleveland. Boy was that fascinating! Water and sewer professionals from around the country talking about their problems and solutions!

I learned that we need to pick up pet excrement and stop with the fertilizers and pesticides and herbicides on lawns; that when we demolish a house there could be all sorts of nasty stuff eroding off the site that should be held in place and kept out of sewer grates (because what goes down the grate in the street goes directly to a waterway). I learned that we need to slow and hold storm water, new development needs to have an on-site storm water management plan. We need to disconnect our downspouts and plant more trees and vegetation and we need to STOP PAVING! 

I went with realneo colleague, Martha Eakin to visit Andrew Watterson on the issue (thinking that if Cleveland could get downspout disconnect going, other municipalities would follow). OK - now you can have a rain barrel or a rain garden (where in other cities like Boston, you have to be permitted to connect your downspout).

I sort of gave up after a while. Watterson and other environmentalists would see me coming and turn away - "here she comes with her downspout disconnect campaign!" No, no... I was gonna ask why Cleveland City Hall doesn't have a green roof.

I even wrote to the NYTimes and asked them to PLEASE cover this issue. I knew the PD would just laugh if I persisted - they had given an answer - "Good idea." But there had been no follow through. However, our infrastructure is failing and NEORSD knows it. They know it so well that we will be paying a bundle to upgrade our sewers. BUT we will not be able to assist on our own. So now we have a stormwater utility. Good. We will be charged for impermeable surface (CCF will have to pay a lot for example). But there are no incentives for such measures as rain barrels or downspout disconnects. In fact, in my town it is still illegal according to ordinance to disconnect your downspouts.

But the NYTimes did follow through - they have published a series of articles: Toxic Waters and yesterday NPR's Fresh Air covered the story: Overloaded Sewers Lead To 'Toxic Waters'

This is good. I feel like my personal clean water advocacy is gaining some traction.

Yeah! They recognized Philadelphia for it's efforts. I mentioned Chris Crockett in "more water".

Now if we can just change the ordinances to allow for downspout disconnects and stop the opportunity corridor (a massive waste of pavement!), dial ODOT back to Paul Alsenas' plan for one two way bridge that makes less runoff impact to the river. If we could do something with the dredge that doesn't not entail creating 200 more acres of landmass to service.

When I first began having these ideas, I met a guy named Ryan McKenzie (owner of CityWheels). We were talking about the very smart Circle Heights Bike Network (still stalled). I asked why we can't just do this NOW. He said these things move very slowly. He was/is right. But with regard to a clean glass of tap water, (you can click here to find out what we're drinking), we may need to get behind this issue and help our elected officials PICK UP THE FREAKIN' PACE!