Clean Water Works

Latest Episodes:

Responding To Hazardous Spills Mar 03, 2023

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NEORSD Superintendent of Environmental Services Scott Broski gives his insights into the February 3, 2023, train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and explains the emergency-response protocols for these kinds of accidents.
Acronyms used in this episode:
WQIS - Water Quality & Industrial Surveillance (NEORSD)
SCBA - Self Contained Breathing Apparatus
ODNR - Ohio Department of Natural Resources
LEPC - Local Emergency Planning Committee
EPCRA - Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act
EHS - Extremely Hazardous Substances
PPE - Personal Protective Equipment
For more information on Environmental Services, visit:
https://www.neorsd.org/environmental

How to Build a Tunnel Feb 14, 2023

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There's a lot happening hundreds of feet below Cleveland's surface. NEORSD Construction Supervisor Robert Auber explains the ins and outs of tunnel excavation in various types of rock and the particular mindset required for a career working underground.

"The Risk Universe" and Internal Audit Jan 31, 2023

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Bradshaw Rescola contemplates worst-case scenarios for organizations and explains how the Sewer District investigates and safeguards against vulnerabilities and harm.
Acronyms used in this episode:
SWOT: An analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats
CIA: Certified Internal Auditor
CFE: Certified Fraud Examiner
NIST: National Institute of Standards and Technology, which provides a privacy framework for cybersecurity

An Introduction to the Lab Jan 10, 2023

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Analytical Services is the name of the Sewer District's laboratory, where water samples are tested for various toxicants and characteristics.
Supervising Chemist Debmalya Bhattacharyya explains the lab's testing methods for determining what's in the wastewater and making sure that the treated water is safe to re-introduce into Lake Erie.
Some acronyms and terms used in this episode:
NPDES: National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, which regulates point sources that discharge pollutants to waters of the United States.
WET: Whole Effluent Toxicity, a lab test that measure wastewater's effects on certain organisms' ability to survive, grow, and reproduce.
ICP: Inductive Coupled Plasma Spectroscopy, a technique that measures and identifies elements within a sample based on the ionization of those elements.
GCMS: Gas Chromatography Mass Spectroscopy
Mass Spec: short for Mass Spectrometer, an instrument that can measure the mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) of one or more molecules present in a sample.
PFAS: Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances.
qPCR: Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction, a technology used for measuring nucleic acid in DNA and RNA.
NELAP: National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program
QA/QC: Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Re-envisioning Horseshoe Lake Park Dec 20, 2022

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In this bonus Clean Water Works segment, Donna talks with residents attending a design workshop for the Doan Brook Restoration at Horseshoe Lake. Hear their ideas for enhancements to the design architects' proposed stream alignments at this popular nature destination. For more information, visit the our website.

The Science of Sludge with Kathryn Crestani Dec 06, 2022

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Kathryn has long worked in the thick of wastewater treatment. And I mean the actual thick: the solids and sludge that are all part of the treatment process.
Enterprise Biosolids and Residuals Superintendent Kathryn Crestani talks with Mike and Donna about how a wastewater treatment plant works (following up on episode 8), how solids are separated out from wastewater, and what the Sewer District does with all that "sludge."

How does a Wastewater Treatment Plant Work? Nov 22, 2022

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Denario Jones explains the basics of wastewater treatment and tells us what it's like to work as a wastewater plant operator (WPO). For more info on working at the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, visit neorsd.org/careers
Some acronyms used in this episode:
WPO-IT - Wastewater Plant Operator in Training
WQIS - Water Quality & Industrial Surveillance
MGD - A measurement of how many Millions of Gallons per Day
WEFTEC - The Water Environment Federation's annual Technical Exhibition and Conference
OWEA - Ohio Water Environment Association
EMSC - Environmental & Maintenance Services Center

Data and Stormwater Management with Jessica Cotton Nov 09, 2022

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Learn how the Sewer District uses maps and other data to power its Regional Stormwater Management Program. Watershed Programs's Jessica Cotton explains what Geographic Information Systems can do and highlights some recent Green Infrastructure projects in Cleveland.

BATS! with Sarah Rehner Oct 28, 2022

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In this Halloween-ish bonus episode, Environmental Specialist Sarah Rehner explains how the Sewer District takes bat and other wildlife habitats into consideration when planning its construction projects.

Cleveland's Hidden Streams: An Interview with Dr. Roy Larick (Pt. 2) Oct 26, 2022

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In Part 2 of our talk with Dr. Larick, we hear about his favorite “secret places” for Cleveland explorers. We also discuss the importance of trees, learn how streams can both divide and connect communities, and answer the question of whether or not to replace a failing dam.

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