Combined Sewage Overflow in Cincinnati

    The Mill Creek Watershed Council of Communities is a coalition made up of citizens from all the communities surrounding Mill Creek in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Their primary concern is protecting the Mill Creek from the damages of the Combined Sewage Overflow system that Cincinnati has when it rains a large amount, and the sewers can't handle the volume of water flowing in it.  This combined sewage then overflows from the sewers and into natural bodies of water, such as the Mill Creek.  According to their mission statement:

(Mill Creek Watershed Council of Communities, 7 Feb. 2013, http://www.millcreekwatershed.org/about-us.html.)

The communities that surround the Mill Creek in Cincinnati number 37, so there are many people from many different walks of life who are directly and indirectly affected by the healthiness of the creek.

(Mill Creek Watershed Council of Communities, 7 Feb. 2013, http://www.millcreekwatershed.org/assets/images/MCjurisdictionmap.jpg.)

     The main issue with the creek is the sheer amount of pollution that has occurred to it throughout the years.  Not only is it contaminated through combined sewage overflow, but residents of Cincinnati and its surrounding neighborhoods tend to deposit large amounts of trash into the creek.  Anything from bricks, to rubber tires, to anything you can think of made of plastic can be found in the creek sadly.  Local efforts led by the watershed council are doing everything they can to try and clean up the creek so people can enjoy it instead of potentially be harmed by it.  I found a video on Youtube describing one of the clean up efforts two years ago led by Clean Up America and the Mill Creek Watershed Council of Communities.  

 

(Youtube, "Poop & Population: Cincinnati's Mill Creek seeks a balance," 7 Feb. 2013, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaK41mAWG6Q.)