Overview
The Cuyahoga County Sanitary Engineering Division (CCSE) was established in 1919 to administer the authority vested in the Board of County Commissioners in matters of wastewater, storm water and water supply management. State law extends to the Board of County Commissioners the authority to create and maintain a Sanitary Engineering Division under the supervision of a registered professional engineer.
Mr. Klaiber’s focus on needs assessment, engineering feasibility studies, maintenance and repair of aging sewer lines, as well as other infrastructure-related issues, has a direct impact on commercial and residential development, job creation and expanded tax base in the communities served by the Sanitary Engineer.
The Sanitary Engineering Division is a major source of information and guidance that mayors, municipal engineers and service directors rely on when making infrastructure decisions within their community. The Division has considerable experience in the maintenance of sanitary and storm sewer lines, many of which are old and have performed beyond their economic life. Moreover, the Division has much expertise with respect to wastewater treatment plants and pump stations.
Engineer Klaiber directs an operation which encompasses over 30 communities and maintains nearly 740 miles of sanitary sewers, treats approximately 174 million gallons of wastewater per year and operates 45 sewage-pumping stations, as well as 3 wastewater treatment plants throughout Cuyahoga County. The Division also has agreements with municipal corporations for the establishment, operation, and maintenance of sanitary sewers and facilities. In addition, standards for any system connected to or served by a County owned improvement are established and enforced.
The Sanitary Engineers work in cooperation with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA), the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD), the City of Cleveland Division of Water, and the Cuyahoga County Board of Health. The CCSE also manages a Capital Improvement Program (CIP) used for upgrading or replacing the existing infrastructure and for expanding sewers to unsewered areas. The CIP includes information about project type, location, funding, preliminary engineering, and final plan development.
All operating funds for the Division are created through fees and assessments. The Division does not receive a subsidy through the County General Fund; however, it does use the General Fund’s bonding capacity.
Goals
The goals of the Sanitary Engineering Division are to:
- Reduce the number of flooded basements by decreasing mainline blockage, minimize the infiltration and inflow of storm water in the sanitary system, and evaluate structural integrity of the entire sewer system;
- Operate wastewater treatment plants in compliance of National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit parameters;
- Provide guidelines for new construction through use of Uniform Standards for Sewerage Improvements;
- Review and Approve of new improvement plans; and
- Provide infrastructure needs assessment for communities.
Departments
Services Provided
The Sanitary Engineering Division provides a variety of services that benefit the Greater Cleveland community. The important functions include:
- Engineering
- Capital improvement planning
- Production of maps
- Pump station operation & maintenance
- Sanitary sewer cleaning & maintenance
- Collection of storm sewer maintenance fund
- Laboratory testing
- Construction inspection
- Sewer builder’s licenses & permits
- Record keeping (As built plans & test tee locations)
- Geographic information systems (GIS)
- Wastewater treatment plant operation & maintenance
The Division also provides support services in the areas of finance, data processing, and record keeping.
Service Delivery System
The CCSE provides a variety of sewerage system maintenance options to local communities. Whereas the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District maintains the major trunk sewers and wastewater treatment plants, the CCSE offer services designed to meet and develop community needs. The design and structure of the CCSE allows flexibility in the delivery of services to each community. A service delivery package can range from full-service to partial-service, dependent upon the need of the municipality. Available services include:
Engineering Service
- Capital improvement planning
- Plan review and approval of all new sewer improvements within the County sewer districts
- Construction management
- Geographic information systems (GIS)
- Project design
- Engineering analysis (required for operation of facilities and the collection system)
- Operational checks (EPA permit compliance)
Facilities Operation and Inspection
- Operation and maintenance of wastewater treatment plants and pump stations
- Inspection of new wastewater collection and transportation systems within County sewer districts
- Issuance of connection permits
- Issuance of sewer builders’ licenses
- Development, implementation, and monitoring of safety guidelines
- Laboratory testing of wastewater to determine extent of pollutants and necessary treatment process adjustments
Sewer Maintenance
- Sanitary sewer maintenance
- Sanitary and storm sewer maintenance
- Cleaning of mainline sewers in each district
- Videotape inspection of sewers to determine condition of lines
- Smoke & dye testing of systems to identify potential problems and interconnections
- In-house completion of minor repairs on system as needed
- Cleaning of sewer laterals (from inspection tee to mainline)
Administrative Support Services
- Data management/mapping program
- Geographical and non-geographical information systems (development and implementation)
- Maps and spatial analysis for design and service management
- Finance management
- Fiscal oversight of annual operating budget in excess of $11million
- Fiscal oversight of annual capital improvement budget of $4 million (including loans and grants)
- Manage automated cost accounting systems for monitoring and tracking revenues and expenditures
- Determination and assessment of user fees (80,000-plus parcels)
Summary of Service Delivery
Services provided to full-service communities include engineering, inspection, maintenance, and operation of wastewater, and storm water transportation and collection system. In townships, the Division is also responsible for the water supply system. In partial service communities, services are provided to the area’s tributary to County owned facilities upon request. The Division has met its commitment to users in the following area:
- Develop financing plan and manage capital construction projects
- Obtain alternate funding grants to offset costs of construction
- Review construction plans in over thirty communities
- Develop computerized mapping program to identify the location of sewer systems and structures
- Process an average yearly flow of 164,000,000 gallons of wastewater
- Laboratory support for wastewater treatment plant parameters; perform approximately 10,072 tests annually
- Maintain approximately 820 miles of sanitary sewers; clean approximately 4,785 house connections annually
- Operate and maintain 45 wastewater pump stations, throughout the County