Tuesday, November 09, 1999
Cleaner Little Miami is goal
MSD, Clermont join forces
BY DAN KLEPAL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Metropolitan Sewer District officials will team up with Clermont County on a $600,000 study that eventually would lead to a reduction in the amount of sewage flowing into the Little Miami River and its east fork.
The study aims to create a development plan along the winding path of the river through the rapidly-growing section of northeast Hamilton and western Clermont counties.
The study will look at po tential development along the river basin, then provide a blueprint for the number of wastewater treatment plants needed to meet federal and state clean-water standards in the future.
The study also will give recommendations about the best places to build plants.
“This will take us the first step, then we'll address what has to happen from there,” MSD Director Patrick Karney said. “It could be that we have to build one new plant, maybe more.”
Mr. Karney said Warren County also might be included in the study, but officials there have yet to be contacted.
Tom Yeager, operations administrator for the Clermont County Water and Sewer District, said his agency has worked with other counties on smaller projects. This partnership, he said, represents a “larger step in that arena.”
“It's more economic and you get higher levels of expertise,” he said.
“And it better fits in with the overall regional planning, as opposed to each jurisdiction just doing their own thing.”
Two-thirds of the study's cost will be paid for by Hamilton County, with Clermont picking up the rest.
Among the goals of the study:
• Determine the most economical and environmentally responsible way to reduce overflows from sanitary and combined sewers.
• Research water quality from point sources, such as sewers, and sources such as runoff from lawns and roadways.
• Study the impact of consolidating or relocating wastewater treatment plants on the river's water quality.
• Provide a long-range plan for the expansion of the collection systems and treatment plants in the area.
Lynne Barst, spokeswoman for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) said there are no statistics on how often municipal sewer districts work together in regional planning. But, she said it's a good idea.
“Anytime you have neigh bors working together, you have the potential for greater benefit,” Ms. Barst said. “When people put their heads together, they accomplish more.”
Hamilton County commissioners applauded the regional approach.
“Sewage knows no political boundaries,” Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus said.
The study will look at existing development and the history of sewage flow, then try to estimate development 20 years out. Commission President Tom Neyer said projected growth in that area makes cooperation vital.
“Political boundaries are less important than quality service,” Mr. Neyer said.
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