Akron has the go-ahead to construct a 16.5-foot diameter, 1 mile long tunnel to control sewer overflow, according to the city.
Akron is currently under a federal consent decree with the United States Environmental Protection Agency to overhaul its water and sewage system after agreeing to make fixes as part of a Clean Water Act settlement in 2009. Untreated sewage and wastewater were overflowing the sewer system and contaminating the Cuyahoga River, the Little Cuyahoga River and the Ohio Canal. Akron committed to the consent decree in 2014 and has spent $1 billion on projects to update the sewer system since then.
The U.S. EPA wanted the Northside Interceptor Tunnel to be 24 feet in diameter, but the city said the new design is the correct size and will save taxpayers $50 million. The tunnel will prevent the sewer system from overflowing even when rainfalls are more heavy than normal.
Akron is poised to begin construction on the new sewer tunnel in late 2024. Unlike the previous project, this construction — on the city’s North Side — should have less of an impact on residents, city officials said.
The sewer tunnel will start on land the city already owns off Peck Road, which the city has closed, Service Director Chris Ludle said.
“So what’s going to happen is it's mining under the street," he said. "The residents driving on Howard Street, driving on Main Street, Oakland, Woodward, Dayton, Riverside, they won’t even know they’re there."
There will be additional construction to finish the project, which will cause some disruption, Ludle said, but residents will not lose access to their driveways or homes.
In addition to the new sewer tunnel, the Rack 34 combined sewer area, between Riverside Drive, Big Falls and Drexel Avenue, will get new storm sewers and the current combined sewers will be reused as separate sanitary sewers, the city said, which will eliminate combined sewer overflows in this area.
Some residents in North Hill are already experiencing minor disruptions from construction happening now as part of this project. Residents might not be able to access their driveways for a day or two, but the disruption should be minor, Ludle said.
“We’re going to resurface the streets for them from curb to curb," he said. "They’re going to be like a new resurfaced street, and basically, they’re going to never know we’re there.”
Mayor Dan Horrigan challenged his administration to find ways to reduce the cost of the project without sacrificing the outcome, Ludle said.
“Akron continues to meet and exceed the requirements of the consent decree while continuously looking for ways to reduce costs for its ratepayers and to provide environmental benefit to its citizens and the region,”Horrigan said in a statement. “I’m proud of the outstanding work this team has done to clean up our waterways while also pursuing any and all cost-savings for our ratepayers.”
This is the third amendment to the sewer plan and was supported by the U.S. and Ohio EPA, the city said. The federal court overseeing the project approved the amendment in November, finding it fair, adequate, reasonable and consistent with public interest. Earlier amendments have also provided greater environmental benefit sooner than required by the consent decree, the city said.
Akron is waiting to hear back on a fourth amendment asking the U.S. EPA to eliminate a $209 million water treatment facility in favor of remediating or removing aging septic systems in the city.
Horrigan's administration has saved taxpayers an estimated $215 million on the project, according to the city.
"We're trying to make an unaffordable program to our residents less unaffordable," Ludle said.
Per the consent decree, the Northside Interceptor Tunnel must be completed by Dec. 31, 2026, but the sewer separation in the Rack 34 area will be completed prior to Dec. 31, 2024, the city said, which will stop overflows sooner than the consent decree mandates. Once these projects are completed, the city will capture 99% of wet weather flows entering the combined sewer system, reducing the annual number of combined sewer overflows by 99.7%.
