2.5 bil. toilet bowl-fuls of untreated sewage overflow to Lake Erie yearly

Study: Untreated sewage into Lake Erie nears 9 billion gallons

http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/cleveland/index.ssf?/base/news-21/1133396044301980.xml&storylist=cleveland

11/30/2005, 7:05 p.m. ET
By CARRIE SPENCER GHOSE
The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — At least 8.9 billion gallons of untreated sewage flows yearly into Lake Erie and the rivers that feed it during storms that overwhelm sewer systems — the same as if 2.5 billion toilets flushed simultaneously into the lake, an environmental group reported Wednesday.

Reporting on overflows is inconsistent, so Ohio Public Interest Research Group searched records from the state and 11 communities — even getting one city's total in a phone call — for what it called the first attempt to measure the overflows.

Records weren't available for many smaller municipal systems, so the real amount dumped is likely greater, said Amy Gomberg, who compiled the report. Pollutants and high levels of bacteria from the overflows lead to beach closings and hurt wildlife, she said.

The largest single source is an estimated 5.5 billion gallons from the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, serving Cleveland and parts of 59 surrounding communities. However, the district estimated that amount using computer modeling from samples of flows from the system's many pipes, Gomberg said...


http://www.epa.state.oh.us

http://www.ohiopirg.org

2.5 toilet bowls doesn't sound like a lot.

Billion that is :)

At least not willingly or knowingly....

URGENT! Timing is critical to save freezing earthquake victims!

(I live in a small unincorporated suburb)any way they made us link up to city sewers because of drainage going into rivers and ultimately lake erie, what they didn't do is check run off from the multitude of farms and factories around here.

acid rain,sewage overflows,deforesting,chemical dumping,bury the nuke wastes...they all come back to haunt us or our kids or grandkids
their kids. My answer take lots of pictures,put some dirt and water and air in a clean jars ...someday our kid's kids will want to see what it was like before.......

back yard to start using a sawdust bucket toilet a la "The Humanure Handbook". Into the compost pile for two years, and then onto the lawn. A very commonsense approach to the problem, but I suspect many are just too damned lazy and self-absorbed or just stupid to even try it.

Unfortunately most of our waterways are polluted by the same phenomenon. Overflow of sewage treatment plants due to storm load.
Ideally we would have two separate systems for storm runoff and sanitary sewers. But cost considerations have made it impractical to dig up major metropolitan areas to separate the two.