On April 22, the world celebrates Earth Day, an annual celebration to raise awareness for conservation, pollution and other environmental issues. This Earth Week, consider how local wastewater and storm water services protect our planet’s water sources and how we can work together to keep our waterways clean now and in the future.
Essential Services that Protect Our Planet
Imagine if everyone’s dirty shower or toilet water went directly to the backyard creek or river. How would that affect public health or the wildlife that lives there?
Before SD1 was established, that’s what happened. Wastewater from local homes and businesses was dumped directly into the Ohio River and its tributaries, contaminating the region’s water resources and creating a serious public health concern.
In 1946, our scientists, engineers and other professionals began writing another story. In the years since, we have built a constantly flowing system of sewer pipes, pump stations and wastewater treatment plants in Northern Kentucky to treat wastewater before it reenters the Ohio River.
This system recycles over 36 million gallons of water every day and prevents over 26,000 tons of waste from entering the Ohio River each year.
Unfortunately, wastewater isn’t the only threat to water quality.
According to the EPA, storm water runoff is one of the greatest threats to clean water in the United States. In addition to carrying toxic pollutants to our waterways, this fast-moving water has the power to shape anything it touches, potentially leading to erosion and flooding. Storm water can damage homes and property, and make travel difficult.
Thus, controlling storm water has become as important as treating wastewater. Since 2003, SD1’s storm water program has installed and maintained a network of storm water infrastructure, restored eroded stream banks, supported volunteer watershed cleanups and educated the community about storm water pollution and best management practices.
Our Commitment to Clean Water
We’ve come a long way since 1946, but we still have a lot of work to do to ensure the water sources we use for drinking, swimming and recreation are safe.
Each year, during heavy rainfalls millions of gallons of raw sewage escape the local sewer systems. These overflows, which are not unique to Northern Kentucky, threaten public health, safety and the environment.
Clean H2O40 is our commitment to preventing these overflows by increasing our sewer system capacity and better managing the flow of wastewater and storm water in the region. By the year 2040, SD1 will completely eliminate all sanitary sewer overflows and significantly reduce combined sewer overflows in Northern Kentucky.
It’s a big goal, but that’s why we’re acting now. Across the region, projects are already underway, capturing and eliminating these overflows in the fight against water pollution.
How You Can Help
Clean H2O40 will go a long way toward making Northern Kentucky a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable place to live. But we need your help to protect our waterways. As we approach Earth Day, consider the following:
Learn more and get involved:
Stay up-to-date on Clean H2O40 updates and storm water tips by connecting with us on Facebook and Twitter.
Thank you for partnering with us to protect our planet’s most precious resource - our water.