Time for a new round of blog entries...

Litigation between the Cincinnati Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) and Hamilton County has been in high gear now for over a year. During this time information has been difficult to obtain. Recent events with Cincinnati area several communities and third party engineering reports have made new information available.

County tries as City wastes...

I was following the June 2018 public hearings held by the Hamilton County Commissioners that the city and MSD failed to attend. The meetings were intended to be a joint presentation of how the EPA Consent Decree was to be addressed in the years to come...except the county and city cannot agree on a plan. Hamilton County cannot even get the City of Cincinnati and the MSD to the table. I observed first-hand the bipartisan frustration of the Hamilton County Commissioners at the second public feedback meeting in Delhi. 

The issue of the MSD looks to be going back to court as the City of Cincinnati continues to block cooperation with Hamilton County and admits again its own failure to produce results.

Exhibit 7

From the email, "...We have been instructed that there is no need for further transition meetings at this time.  I wanted to let you know that we are postponing the upcoming IT discussion and any future meetings indefinitely..."

The County Commissioners, led by President Todd Portune, have repeatedly tried to get the MSD and city to collaborate further. In their frustration the communication above has become part of their documentation submitted to the federal judge for the June 30th 2018 deadline.

The issue is further complicated by the admitted waste by the city. Part of the filing by Hamilton County for the June 30th, 2018 deadline is a communication from the Cincinnati City Solicitor that unerscores hundreds of hours of staff time wasted:

Excerpt from Exhibit 9

From the memo, "...Despite such efforts that accounted for hunderds of hours of CIty staff time, Plante Moran failed to produce a single shared services agreement or any work product at all..." Having worked in project managment this is a failing of the City, where were the milestones and accountability?

We certainly want to see more documentation on this issue for what was spent and what the expectations were but the firm mentioned in the communications has a good reputation so the first assumption is they were thrown under the bus...Cincinnati and Hamilton County deserve better than this. The City Council has to work through their internal 'issues'.

The MSD 'cries wolf' with Sewer Overflow Warnings

You can subscribe to an alerting system from the MSD for sewer overflow warnings. Sounds great except the system sends the alert that a strong possibility that Combined Sewer Overflows could occur every day there is even a 5% chance of rain for just one hour of the day...I guess the MSD is never wrong if they send the alert every day, they can always say they notified the public regardless if the notification becomes meaningless background noise.

The Weather Channel. August 9th, 2017

The alert is for August 9th, 2017. The precipitation expected is 0% until 11 PM. For 11 PM to Midnight there is a 5% chance of precipitation. Is this a meaningful warning or an attempt to mitigate liability? Email sent 7:11 AM, August 9th, 2017 by: msd.communications@cincinnati-oh.gov

**WET WEATHER SEWER OVERFLOW WARNING TODAY** Thank you for signing up to receive email information about wet weather overflows in the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati (MSD) service area. Our goal is to provide updates about potential impacts to area waterways. Today, weather conditions indicate a strong possibility that Combined Sewer Overflows could occur.

What is a Combined Sewer Overflow?   Like most older urban areas around the country, the sewer collection system in the MSD service area was constructed with pipes that combine sanitary sewage (wastewater from homes and businesses) with stormwater (runoff from streets and rooftops).  To manage the increased volume of flow in pipes when it rains or when water levels in area rivers and streams are elevated, the system was designed to allow CSOs to occur, sending untreated sewage and stormwater into area waterways. What should I do if CSOs have occurred? After a rainstorm, you should avoid contact with streams in the combined sewer areas for at least 72 hours. You also should avoid contact with streams in the combined sewer areas until 72 hours after water levels in area rivers and streams have returned to normal elevation. Signs are posted along our waterways to identify wet weather overflow outfalls. Contact with the water in these areas could be hazardous.  Even in dry weather, you should exercise sound judgment with regard to urban streams. What is MSD doing to correct the CSO problem? MSD is committed to improving water quality, and is currently embarking on the largest capital improvement program in Hamilton County's history to address the challenges of CSOs.  We encourage you to learn more, and to partner with us in this historic undertaking.  For more information please visit the Project Groundwork website at ProjectGroundwork.org , or email us at msd.communications@cincinnati-oh.gov.

Sincerely, MSD Communications Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati

Riverside can go to...nowhere.

Over the decades the neighborhoods Riverside and Sedamsville have lost their luster. The city of Cincinnati has finally stopped pretending they matter. Cincinnati continues the process of removing basic services by proposing ending reasonable access to public transportation in these communities.

A representative from Metro came to the Sayler Park Village Council meeting last night. The presentation was not one the community wanted to hear. Buzzwords of “economics”, “tight budget”, “time for change” led off the conversation. The one bus route that supports Sayler Park, Riverside, and Sedamsville is being proposed to cut back to commuter hours only. No nights. No weekends. No mid-day into the city. The bus stops heading into the city in Riverside and Sedamsville are already a miserable experience where the ridership is exposed to the elements and often waits on a sliver of concrete adjacent to Hwy 50. Waiting for the bus is noisy, dirty, demeaning, and unsafe. Bus service will soon be gone for all but commuter hours if the proposed changes go through...

Google Maps: Bus Stop directly adjacent to HWY 50 traffic

Many of the riders of bus route 50 work hours other than 8-5, weekdays... which is all the route will support if approved, so PEOPLE (not numbers) need new jobs or to move. Metro states economics, not enough ridership...but for Riverside and Sedamsville...no alternatives. The Metro says that Sayler Park will get better access to Delhi with an extended route from another bus...maybe, but there was no data presented at the meeting that Delhi is where the riders want to go.

The public has a chance to voice their opinions but I doubt the people who ride the bus would be able to access the meeting on August 23rd, 4-8 pm which overlaps the same commuter hours they expect the remaining ridership to use the bus route.

Online feedback is available to Metro but they have already run their 'numbers'. If PEOPLE want to be heard talk to the Cincinnati City Council.

The miles of residences losing basic access in PINK below shows the nights and weekends that will be without bus service moving forward:

Go*Metro Map of Route Modifications

Miami Group of the Sierra Club and Communities United For Action oppose new MSD contract!

Community groups are concerned and are moving to action action in regard to the Cincinnati Metropolitan Sewer District. The recent push to approve a 45 year city-county contract without adequate transparency or input from the rate payers has had a reviewed, negative response from the Miami Group of the Sierra Club and Communities United For Action.

From the Miami Group of the Sierra Club:

Deep Flaws in Sewer Deal ! We Need Your Help at Public Meeting Monday Aug 7, 2017, 7:30 pm at 225 W. Galbraith Rd, Cincinnati Oh 45215

See the City and County Commitment Letter –>1013-Notice-of-Filing-Letter.pdf for their rough outline of the 45 year deal.  

See what Sierra Club thinks of the deal–>   Deep Flaws in Sewer Deal Require Your Help at Monday Evening Meeting

From Communities United For Action: