Benefits to Our Community
Project Groundwork is designed to make our communities cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable.
Here are some of the many ways this major initiative will benefit our communities.
Environmental and Public Health Benefits:
Reduces combined sewer overflows (CSOs) into local rivers and streams;
Eliminates sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) in a typical year;
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Assists customers who have experienced sewer backups caused by the public sewer system;
Reduces sewage debris and sewage odors in local waterways; and
Decreases human exposure to pathogens and pollutants, such as E. Coli bacteria.
Economic Benefits:
Creates jobs and business revenues for local contractors and tradesmen working on sewer improvement projects;
Promotes the use of small, woman-owned, and minority businesses on sewer improvement projects;
Increases property values in homes that previously experienced chronic sewage backups requiring disclosure to prospective buyers;
Increases property values in areas that previously experienced chronic overflows resulting in poor water quality after rains, odors, and sewer debris; and
Promotes business growth - new business development or existing business expansions - in the MSD service area through the creation of sewer connection credits.
Social Benefits:
Encourages more recreational use of waterways;
Enhances natural habitats for people, plants, and wildlife;
Improves aesthetic appeal of creeks and streams;
Creates more green space or effective use of green space through development of green infrastructure (e.g., pervious paving, rain gardens, green roofs, bioswales, daylighting creeks, controlling hillside runoff) to control storm water; and
Helps facilitate urban renewal and community development through the integration of sewer improvement projects with environmental, social, and economic benefits such as creek restorations, creation of urban waterways, parks or gardens, and the renovation or reuse of buildings, etc.
Focus on Stormwater
In a combined sewer system, rain water (also known as stormwater) is the major culprit in combined sewer overflows (CSOs). That’s why MSD is exploring, designing and implementing solutions to keep rain water runoff out of the sewer system.
These solutions, commonly referred to as "green infrastructure," can range from rain gardens and pervious pavement to bioswales, stormwater detention basins, stream restoration and bioengineered streams.
Green infrastructure allows rainwater to soak into the ground where it is absorbed and cleaned through natural processes, with any excess rainwater slowly released back into the combined sewer system, a dedicated storm only system or a local waterway.
MSD has focused on three different levels of stormwater solutions. Please click the headings below for more details (click again to close):
Between 2009 and 2011, MSD partnered with public and private entities across Hamilton County to demonstrate the use and effectiveness of various low impact development (LID) stormwater controls.
Known as the Enabled Impact Program, this initiative enabled MSD to fund or help fund stormwater controls on partner sites.
LID stormwater controls generally capture less than 10 million gallons of stormwater annually.
MSD partners included local non-profits, hospitals, museums, churches, colleges and municipalities, among others.
Examples of stormwater controls evaluated under the program included:
- Rain gardens
- Green or vegetative roofs
- Bioinfiltration basins
- Bioretention ponds
- Level spreaders
- Infiltration chambers
- Permeable pavement including pervious pavers, porous concrete and porous asphalt
- Rain barrels, cisterns and other rainwater harvesting methods
MSD partnered with the Cincinnati Zoo to design and install pervious pavers, rainwater harvesting systems, separated storm sewers and a Green Garden Education Center. See this Zoo project article for details on stormwater controls at the new Africa exhibit.
MSD also worked with the Civic Garden Center on a "Green Learning Station" located on the site of a former gas station in Cincinnati's Avondale neighborhood.
To learn more about MSD's Enabled Impact program, view MSD's latest Enabled Impact Program Interim Summary Report and the MSD Enabled Impact Program fact sheet.
MSD is looking for ways to remove large volumes of stormwater from the combined sewer system through the use of large-scale green infrastructure such as bioswales, stream restoration and stormwater detention basins.
These “regional” projects capture more than 10 million gallons of stormwater annually.
Much of this effort is focusing on the Lower Mill Creek watershed area, where MSD is required by federal and state regulators to eliminate 1.78 billion gallons of combined sewer overflows by 2018.
MSD also completed a stream restoration project at Ault Park, which is located in the Duck Creek Watershed that drains to the Little Miami River.
The Communities of the Future concept is a new approach to sewer infrastructure challenges. It employs unique CSO solutions that could also serve as a catalyst for urban renewal.
One of the main components of this approach is using natural water features, such as restored or daylighted streams, to reduce CSOs while simultaneously beautifying or improving an area. This effort is anticipated to encourage partnerships between the community and various public or private agencies that could foster economic, social and environmental improvements to address issues such as brownfields, urban blight, vacancy and property abandonment.
MSD is currently implementing a Communities of the Future project in the Lick Run watershed .
The focus of Communities of the Future is to provide the biggest public benefit for the financial investment made in sewer improvements.
For more information about sustainable stormwater solutions, please contact MaryLynn Lodor. She can be reached through MSD Engineering Customer Service at (513) 557-3594 or MSD.Communications@cincinnati-oh.gov.
