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A Regulatory Commitment
MSD’s Wet Weather Program is a necessity. Not just because it is the right thing to do, but also because it is mandated by state and federal agencies.
For several decades now, MSD has been concerned about sewer overflows and has been working to reduce them. In 1997, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and Ohio EPA began discussions with MSD concerning the further reduction and elimination of raw sewage overflows into local streams and rivers.
After several years of negotiation, MSD, Hamilton County, the City of Cincinnati and other Consent Decree partners (see below) agreed to two Consent Decrees, which require the reduction of combined sewer overflows, the elimination of sanitary sewer overflows in a typical year and the elimination of water-in-basement occurrences (caused by public sewers) throughout MSD’s service area. Our Wet Weather Program is a product of these agreements.
Our approach to the negotiations, and the subsequent development of the Wet Weather Program, was to balance potential costs with benefits and environmental impacts. We established three goals:
- Meet state and federal regulations by complying with the Clean Water Act and the Consent Decrees
- Improve local water quality
- Keep efforts affordable for our ratepayers
These goals have guided all of our activities up to this point and will carry on through the Wet Weather Program’s implementation.
MSD will continually report its progress on the Wet Weather Program to the state and federal agencies. These agencies are responsible for providing final program approval, overseeing its implementation and ensuring that MSD continues to meet the terms of the Decrees and goals set forth in the Wet Weather Program.
For more details about MSD’s Consent Decrees, visit the MSD Consent Decree site.
