SSO Elimination Project

Bay Village was issued an Administrative Order on Consent for violation of the CWA for two Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs) on Lake Road adjacent to Lake Erie. These are the final two overflows to be closed for full CWA compliance. Increased storm water infiltration increases the frequency and severity of sanitary sewer overflows into the lake. Based on an extensive study and plan that was approved by the USEPA, the City will install a 1.5m gallon equalization tank and make necessarily concurrent improvements to two downstream sewer systems.

Information on the project background and timeline are below.

Original Administrative Orders

• On September 29, 2009, the City received an Administrative Order from the USEPA alleging violations of the Clean Water Act. The Order identified four SSO locations and required a response plan to close the SSOs.
• The City implemented several projects in response to the Orders. Two of the four SSOs were closed by 2013. Attempts to close the other SSOs were unsuccessful.

Subsequent Administrative Orders

• In early 2019, the USEPA contacted the City regarding the status of the original Orders.
• Because personnel changes at the USEPA resulted in a lack of continuity and missing information, the City provided background for the original Orders, the status, and an evaluation of the data available to close the remaining SSOs.
• The USEPA agreed that further study was warranted and offered to negotiate revised Orders to close the remaining SSOs.
• The renegotiated Administrative Orders of Consent were executed by the City and USEPA on July 20, 2020. The Orders include:
  • requirements that the 2 SSOs be closed by July 2025
  • that the City submit a plan for approval specifying actions and procedures to eliminate the SSOs
  • an enumeration of fines that can be imposed for non-compliance.
• The City conducted a study from September 2020 through June 2021 to determine the most effective way to remove the SSOs. The resulting plan (PDF) includes, among other measures, the installation of an equalization tank.
• On June 30, 2021 the City submitted its plan to the USEPA, which approved it on September 1, 2021.

Design Progress

• Flow monitoring of the sewers and test bores began May 2022 and concluded August 2022.
• Hydraulic modeling of the sewer system began in October 2022 and will be completed April 2023
• Design of the equalization tank and the sewer improvements on Douglas Dr.-Lake Rd and Glen Park Dr. begins March 2023 and will conclude December 2023.

Construction Schedule

Budget

The Ohio Public Works Commission approved the City’s application for a zero-interest loan for the tank for $2.9 million, and the Ohio EPA approved a zero-interest loan for $800,000. The remainder to be financed is $8.712 million.