Send us a textThe newly released 2025 Ohio Infrastructure Report Card delivers a sobering assessment of the systems we rely on daily but rarely think about. Ohio has made modest improvements since the last American Society of Civil Engineers' report in 2021, yet vulnerabilities persist.Sewer District employees (and ASCE members) Derek Vogel and Lita Laven walk us through the grades and explain how federal infrastructure funding has breathed new life into long-neglected systems, particularly benefiting water, transit, and bridge projects across the state. However, the looming expiration of this funding in 2027 threatens to erase these hard-won gains. And with Ohio's stormwater infrastructure approaching the end of its designed lifespan, we're facing a perfect storm of aging systems and increasingly intense rainfall events. Check out the complete 2025 Infrastructure Report Card to see how your state's vital systems measure up.
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Wastewater Surveillance and Community Health
Send us a textA recent innovation, the National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) has transformed from an emergency response to COVID-19 into a comprehensive early warning system for disease outbreaks.The NWSS monitors approximately 45% of the US population through over 1,400 sampling sites. Public health laboratories can analyze genetic material from the waste stream to detect the presence of pathogens even before clinical symptoms appear in communities. Despite the inherent complexity of wastewater samples, the process has demonstrated surprising accuracy in predicting disease trends.Visit cdc.gov/nwss to explore the NWSS dashboard.
CLEVELAND, OHIO: From the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, an in-depth and fun conversation led by Donna Friedman and Mike Uva on any and all topics related to clean water, wastewater treatment, stormwater management, and the people, projects, and programs serving Lake Erie and our local waterways and communities.