New tunnel to reduce combined sewer overflows to be active by end of 2019
CUYAHOGA COUNTY, Ohio — A new tunnel on the east side of Cleveland to reduce combined sewer overflows is expected to be active by the end of 2019, according to the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District.
The Dugway Storage Tunnel, the second tunnel the NEORSD built to deal with this issue, is nearing completion. It runs beneath Glenville, starting just south of I-90. The tunnels are meant to reduce combined sewer overflows entering local waterways after heavy rain.
"Combined sewer overflows were built to solve problems, basement flooding or street flooding way long time ago,” said Frank Greenland, director of watershed programs at NEORSD. “But by solving those problems, we transferred problems to the receiving waters, and when you mix sewage and stormwater, you’re going to send a variety of pollutants to Lake Erie directly or to any of the streams.”