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Above: At the top of Mill Creek Falls, before the completion of the second leg of the Mill Creek Tunnel, combined flow -- a mix of stormwater and sewage -- would discharge from an outfall pipe into the water during very heavy rain events. The outfall was sealed as part of the project, and this stone wall was erected to cover the location of the original pipe; instead of discharging, the flow is captured for proper treatment.
The Heights Hilltop Interceptor and the Mill Creek Tunnel systems are examples of District projects that have helped reduce combined sewer overflows in the greater Cleveland area. They are just two of a number of projects that will address wet weather problems. The District expects these efforts to directly benefit member communities by improving water quality in area streams and reducing basement flooding.
Heights Hilltop Interceptor System
The District's Heights-Hilltop Interceptor (HHI) system was constructed to transport separate sanitary sewage from Greater Cleveland's eastern suburbs to the District's Easterly Wastewater Treatment Plant. At a cost of approximately $250 million, the HHI system was constructed between 1985 and 2006. As a result of these projects, sanitary flows that used to enter Cleveland's combined sewers are now sent directly to the Easterly Wastewater Treatment Plant. This has significantly reduced combined sewer overflows to streams such as Doan and Dugway Brooks.
The interceptor fully or partially serves 15 communities including Beachwood, Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, East Cleveland, Gates Mills, Highland Heights, Lyndhurst, Mayfield, Mayfield Heights, Pepper Pike, Richmond Heights, Shaker Heights, South Euclid, and University Heights in Cuyahoga County and Willoughby Hills in Lake County.
The Mill Creek Tunnel System
The Mill Creek Tunnel project is a three phase $200 million project and is part of the EPA's federal mandate to reduce water pollution. The tunnel system captures combined sewer overflows and provides outlets for the relief of presently overloaded sewers, alleviating sewer backups and basement flooding problems. When completed, the tunnel will reduce combined sewer overflows to Mill Creek by over 500 million gallons per year.
Communities benefitting from this project include the City of Cleveland, Garfield Heights, Cuyahoga Heights, Maple Heights, Warrensville Heights, North Randall, Highland Hills, Beachwood, Shaker Heights, Bedford Heights, Orange and Solon.
While construction continues, the completed Mill Creek Tunnel system will eventually route all flows to the Southerly Wastewater Treatment Plant.
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