Sewers 101
Shaker Heights, like all modern American cities, has two systems: the sanitary sewer
system and the storm sewer system. The sanitary sewer handles waste water from inside
your home: from dish water to bath water and everything in between. There are 110
miles of public sanitary sewer in Shaker Heights, which are maintained by the City.
After waste water leaves your home and enters the public sanitary sewer (see
illustration), it flows – thanks to gravity – to either the Southerly Wastewater
Treatment Plant in Cuyahoga Heights or the Easterly Wastewater Treatment Plant in
Cleveland. These plants are two of three owned and operated by the Northeast Ohio
Regional Sewer District. Here, waste water is treated and then discharged to Lake Erie.
The storm sewer handles water outside your home, mostly rain and snow melt
runoff from your roof and driveway. This system is designed to carefully transport
storm water into area streams and rivers, including the Doan Brook, where it, too,
eventually ends up in Lake Erie.
There are also approximately 110 miles of public storm sewers in Shaker Heights.
Storm water enters this system from drains on City streets, as well as from gutter
downspouts and drains on private property. The maintenance of the public storm
sewer system is also the responsibility of the City.
The Homeowner’s Role
With more than 50 percent of the City’s sewer pipes on private, mostly residential,
property, homeowners play a key role in helping to maintain the system.
A typical Shaker home has two “service laterals,” which are small sewer pipes –
generally six inches in diameter – that connect to the public sewer lines. One service
lateral connects to the sanitary sewer and the other to the storm sewer.
Shaker property owners are responsible for maintaining their service laterals up to
the “test tee,” which is the point at which the private sewer meets the public sewer. The
City maintains the laterals from the test tee to the main sewer in the street.
Unless they’ve been replaced, a typical Shaker home has service laterals made
of clay pipe, which are easily penetrated by tree roots. The City recommends
homeowners clean their laterals every three to five years. If roots are present,
laterals should be cleaned annually. A certified plumber can inspect a home’s laterals
for proper water flow and complete any maintenance or repairs.
Ongoing Work
In the months following the 2014 storm,
the City undertook a comprehensive
review of the system, then developed a
program to “restore and maintain what
we have,” explains Speese, who says that
replacing the system entirely would cost
more than $600 million.
This includes a stepped-up cleaning
schedule. Catch basins – the drains in the
street – are now cleaned on a five-year
rotating basis (the City has approximately
3,500 of them); main lines are also cleaned
on a similar five-year cycle.
But it also includes a proactive repair
program. “We’re making repairs as part of
our street paving program,” says Speese.
When a street is slated for paving, crews
first clean the sewer lines, then inspect
and repair them as necessary.
Lastly, several larger sewer
projects will help add capacity to the
system, while also extending its life.
This includes two SSO (sanitary sewer
overflow) projects – funded in a 50/50
partnership with the Northeast Ohio
Regional Sewer District – as well as
using new technology to line older pipes
to give them a “longer structural life,”
explains Speese.
Still, there’s plenty of work to do
before our sewer system is fully ready
for its next 100 years. “We’re working
hard to get to the point where the
system is stable,” she adds. “But once
we’ve achieved that, our system will
always require care and attention,
whether it’s routine maintenance or
fixing pipes when they break.” SL
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