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Water Quality Impacts of Wet Weather Overflows –
Ohio River Valley
Over the past three years, we have provided assistance
to Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) in their efforts to better define the water
quality impacts in the Ohio River and its tributaries
from SSOs and CSOs. This is the largest EPA-funded
program of its type, directed towards quantifying
impacts from point sources, non-point sources, sanitary
sewer overflows, combined sewer overflows, and urban and
non-urban storm water runoff. Samples during wet and
dry weather are collected from a 42-mile stretch of the
Ohio River and 12 major tributaries around Louisville,
Kentucky. Water quality models are being developed to
help community leaders determine the most effective
solutions to the betterment of water quality. Findings
to date have concluded that background water quality
during wet-weather events is impaired due to other
pollution sources and that the SSO- and CSO-caused
impacts are of short duration. These efforts provide a
strong technical basis for advancing the concept of
wet-weather water quality standards, which recognize the
true nature and impact of SSOs and CSOs, and that would
allow SSO and CSO control in a more cost-effective
manner than called for by current policy.
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