By James Laughlin
An estimated $44.7 billion is needed nationwide to address the problem of combined sewer overflows (CSOs), but funding the often expensive and complex projects is a major challenge for the 859 CSO permittees, according to an Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General (OIG) report.
The 60-page report, Controlling and Abating Combined Sewer Overflows, was based on a series of interviews and site visits. G. Tracy Mehan, head of EPA's Office of Water, is required to respond to the report and its recommendations within 90 days of the Aug. 26 report date.
Since EPA issued its CSO Policy in 1994, states and communities have implemented CSO programs with varying success. While some have developed innovative and successful projects to treat combined sewer overflows, many others have not. While funding is a major issue, just finding a suitable site for needed treatment facilities can be a major obstacle, according to OIG.
A key part of the OIG review was to identify promising practices already implemented by some of the CSO communities. It's not surprising that they found quite a few programs that could stand as benchmarks for the industry. The "promising practices" found by OIG include a variety of technical approaches and innovations, state grant programs, government cooperative efforts, public education initiatives, and neighborhood improvements.
The OIG report cites a variety of worthwhile projects, including the Rouge River Project, which involved 48 communities in the Detroit, MI, area. Under Phase I of the project, eight communities constructed 10 retention treatment basins. Each basin was sized for different storm events, and several used innovative technologies.
The facilities also incorporated a variety of additional features or variations in compartment sizing and sequencing (such as a first-flush chambers) to improve effectiveness. From this approach, the Rouge River Project team determined that desired water quality results could be achieved without constructing massive facilities.
Other projects citied in the OIG report included those in New Haven, CT; Springfield, VT; Paulding, OH; New Bedford, MA; and Crafton, PA, among others.
One problem the OIG investigators found was that many communities do not have enough information to really know the impact of CSO controls on water quality before they begin their projects. As a result, they don't know until after the fact whether a given CSO project was a wise investment of taxpayers' dollars.
The report recommended that a watershed approach be used when undertaking CSO projects, because of the wide variety of pollution sources affecting water bodies. While CSO discharges are a significant pollution source, eliminating them will not always ensure that water quality standards are met. Sanitary sewer overflows, pollution from storm water runoff, and concentrated animal feeding operations can also impair water bodies. Attainment of clean water can only be accomplished through a concerted effort to limit all sources of pollutants, the report said.
Other recommendations for improving the CSO program include developing a system to disseminate lessons learned and better practices about CSOs. Also, EPA should work with CSO permitting authorities and communities to assure the performance of interim reviews regarding water quality, and take a leadership role in encouraging the use of watershed approaches and having states and communities work together to accomplish clean water, according to the report's authors.
The report, Wastewater Management: Controlling and Abating Combined Sewer Overflows, is available in pdf format at the Office of Inspector General's Electronic Reading Room, www.epa.gov/oigearth/eroom.htm.
James Laughlin, Editor
