March, 2000

The current enforcement actions of the EPA will require Allegheny County to invest heavily in the rehabilitation of its sewage infrastructure in order to comply with the Federal Clean Water Act. Plans for this rehabilitation must consider the challenges of sustainability both in terms of the overall environmental impact today and in the future, as well as the need to develop operating systems capable of sustaining the infrastructure to be created through this investment.

The problem encompasses combined sewer overflows (CSOs), sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) and urban runoff caused by wet weather events (rainfall and snowmelt). Because of the topography, the prevalence of areas with high groundwater and slow permeability of soils the impacts of wet weather events last well beyond the duration of the rainfall or snowmelt. CSOs and SSOs can continue long after the rain has stopped due to the underlying deficiencies of the system including the degraded condition of the private and public sewer lines, illegal connections of roof, driveway and building foundation drains that are connected into the sanitary sewers.

Inflow and infiltration (I/I) comes from illegal connection, deteriorating collector sewers, manholes and even stream inflows. Poor maintenance and operation of municipal collection systems means that many are functioning like perforated pipes draining groundwater, stormwater, along with wastewater to the point of connection with ALCOSAN or overflowing to a stream, river or basement. CSOs and SSOs degrade water quality effecting habitat, recreation and water supply creating a significant public health hazard.

ALCOSAN maintains and operates the regional treatment plant and nine large interceptor sewers. However, municipal collector sewers conveying sanitary sewage to the interceptors are owned and maintained by the individual municipalities or authorities.

ALCOSAN can exercise only minimal control over the flows generated by individual municipalities. Contracts between ALCOSAN and most of its service area municipalities provide no incentive for flow reduction. Additionally, the relationship between ALCOSAN and its service communities is often adversarial and uncooperative. Many of today’s problems can be traced to the original structure of the ALCOSAN organization, the history of its management and its contractual relationship with the communities. It can also be said that the relationship is neglected in that ALCOSAN management and Board promote misunderstanding and mistrust through what is often described as unresponsiveness by communities. This lack of cooperation is a roadblock for progress in all aspects of the rehabilitation effort.

On the other hand, many communities have shown an unwillingness to maintain and operate their sewage infrastructure in a responsible manner. Local elected officials seldom manage their sewage systems on a regional watershed basis, but as an individual system, without consideration of the impacts beyond their municipal boundaries. Because of long-standing neglect and lack of investment these systems often pose more of a liability than an asset.

Additionally, local elected officials who are often reluctant to give up control of this neglected infrastructure are also hesitant to commit to financial investment that will impact their community well beyond their term of office. Communities must begin to look at the rehabilitation, operation and maintenance of their systems on a regional basis. At a minimum cooperative efforts must be undertaken by communities within their watershed, the long-term objective, however, will be to expand these efforts to a larger regional basis. For example, the region could be organized into several planning basins or regions consistent with the ALCOSAN Long Term Control Plan.

The ALCOSAN comprehensive Long Term Control Plan projects nearly $1 billion in plant and interceptor upgrades plus an additional $2 billion in potential municipal sewer upgrades and rehabilitation. Financing these upgrades community by community will greatly add to the municipal costs.

Communities do not realize the economies of scale that can be achieved through multi-municipal rehabilitation, maintenance and operation activities. This is further challenged by antiquated inter-municipal service agreements that unfairly distribute costs.

As much as 60% of the extraneous flows originate within the private sector. To be successful will require rehabilitation of private building laterals. Public acceptance of the costs of these repairs will necessitate that it be included within the public financing. Legislative changes may be necessary to streamline the use of public money on private property to solve this contribution to the public health hazard.

The solutions to the wet weather problem will require the application of a number of techniques. Rehabilitating the piping system to reduce the source of wet weather infiltration and inflow is the preferred alternative. Cost effectiveness analysis may require that storage of peak wet weather flows and even satellite treatment of overflows also be considered. Engineering analysis data applicable to this region needs to be developed to help communities to decide which alternatives to choose. A number of "trenchless" technologies, which minimize excavation, need to be tried and evaluated for effectiveness and cost savings. Methods of rehabilitation of private laterals without excavating each property owners’ yard need to be evaluated to assure minimal disruption and public acceptance.

The opportunity to recapture the capacity of the system will allow for redevelopment of urban communities potentially minimizing the extension of new sewers, which create sprawl development in suburban Allegheny County. This is an opportunity to redefine the institutional agencies that operate and maintain the County’s aging sewer infrastructure.

Elimination of sanitary sewer overflows and management of combined sewer overflows will create opportunities to restore a number of the County’s waterways allowing habitat restoration. The visible result of restoring waterways creates the political and public will to continue to invest in the region’s sewer infrastructure.

The Rouge River National Wet Weather Demonstration Project is a comprehensive watershed wide program to provide solutions to other urban watersheds throughout the country on how to restore a polluted urban waterway. This cooperative watershed management effort between Federal, State and local agencies is support by multi-year Federal grants from the U.S. EPA with additional funding by local communities.

Locally, the mission of the 3 Rivers Wet Weather Demonstration Program (3RWWDP) is to establish and promote the technical means, the institutional structures and the financial mechanisms needed to demonstrate the best wet weather flow management practices at the least possible cost and impact. In other words, 3RWWDP will develop the toolbox of approaches for municipalities to draw from when addressing this issue. 3RWWDP is supported by multi-year Federal grants from the U.S. EPA, State grants through DEP, ALCOSAN, ACHD, communities and private foundation grants.