About Clyde City Council Boards & Commissions Departments / Rec Clydescope Home Superintendent John Biggs Email Mercury Minimization Partnership of Clyde INTRODUCTION The State of Ohio has issued more stringent discharge limits for Mercury at all Wastewater Treatment Plants within the State. The new permitted limit for the Clyde Wastewater Treatment Plant is 2.7 Parts Per Trillion (For comparison, a part per trillion (PPT) is equivalent to a drop of water in a thousand swimming pools). This new limit of 2.7 is below to the human health water quality limit of 3.1 PPT. Since January of 2007 the Clyde Wastewater Treatment Plant has averaged discharge levels at less than 1.1 PPT and has not had a reading greater than the Human Health Criteria. Mercury Minimization Partnership of Clyde (MMP) The City of Clyde and the Wastewater Treatment Utility are required to begin a Pollution Minimization Program by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This program will take the form of the Mercury Minimization Partnership of Clyde in which the City hopes that all commercial and industrial wastewater users will actively participate. The program will be largely voluntary, however, the City is required to begin this program therefore some aspects will be required. The effectiveness and level of participation in this partnership will determine how many portions of the program will remain voluntary. At present the City will be required to document the progress of the partnership to the Ohio EPA as well as the discharge limits at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. Objective of the Partnership The objective of the partnership is for all sanitary users to identify mercury sources that are located within the residence or the business establishment. Upon identification of potential mercury sources the following steps should be considered: All mercury sources that are located that no longer have use should be properly disposed of. Mercury sources that still are being used should be eliminated if a viable cost-effective alternative is presently available. Mercury sources that must continue to be used within the business or residence should be labeled and have a spill prevention plan determined in case of accidents. Mercury Spill Prevention Plan information can be found at the following links: www.epa.ohio.gov/portals/41/sb/publications/spcc.pdf www.odh.ohio.gov/odhPrograms/eh/hlth_as/chemfs1.aspx RESIDENTIAL Household Mercury Search.pdf - Use this attached mercury household search sheet to identify common mercury uses that may be found in your home. Information on Household Mercury from Wisconsin Source Book.pdf Residential information on mercury item disposal and collection dates can be found at - www.recycleoss.org Adobe Acrobat Reader required to view pdf files NON-RESIDENTIAL Information from Wisconsin Source Book - 1. Agricultural 2. Automotive Sector 3. Business or Commercial Establishments 4. Chemical Manufacturers/Users 5. Contractors & Construction 6. Dentists 7. Educational Institutions 8. Food Processors and the Food Service Industry 9. Hospitals and Clinics 10. Industry 11. Metals Industry 12. Laboratories 13. Nursing Homes 14. Unique, Potential Source: Non-Residential Sanitary Sewer Users that cannot appropriately be classified into one of the General Categories will be listed as a "Unique, Potential Source" (Please note that all sanitary users are considered potential source to some extent). As will be the case with each category, the City will conduct one-on-one surveys with each non-residential user to determine possible mercury sources and potential mercury free alternatives. 15. Unknown, Potential Source: Non-Residential Sanitary Sewer Users whose sewers use is not known from the preliminary classification process will be listed as "Unknown, Potential Source". The City will classify these users during the one-on-one surveys or through telephone surveys. All Users will eventually be classified External Links for More Mercury Information Ohio EPA Mercury Reduction OSS Solid Waste District Recycling Information Statement of Combined Sewer System The City of Clyde has a Combined Sewer System (CSS). It was originally designed to carry Sanitary Sewage (consisting of domestic, commercial and industrial wastewater) and storm water (surface drainage from rainfall and snow melt) in a single pipe to a treatment facility. During dry weather CSS's convey domestic, commercial and industrial wastewater. In periods of rainfall or snowmelt, total wastewater flow may exceed the capacity of the CSS'S. When this occurs, the CSS was designed to overflow directly to surface water bodies. In Clyde there were three CSOï¿½s that flowed into Raccoon Creek. These over flows, called combined sewer overflows (CSOï¿½s) may have been a source of water pollution in our community. As part of the sanitary/storm sewer separation projects here these CSOï¿½s have been permanently closed and sealed. This created a hydraulic overload on the entire collection and treatment systems. Due to the need to alleviate hydraulic stress on these systems a CSO screening facility was constructed. , When it becomes necessary the CSO facility provides the collection system with hydraulic relief while at the same time providing protection to the community and environment by screening out potentially harmful debris. Because CSOs contain untreated domestic, commercial and industrial wastes, as well as surface runoff, many different types of contaminants may be present: pathogens, suspended solids, nutrients, toxins, and floatable matter. CSO's have been shown to be a major contributor to use impairment and aesthetic degradation of Raccoon Creek, and may contribute to health effects when the population has contacts with this water after a period of overflow or discharge. On 26 April 1893 the State of Ohio Board of Health granted the City of CLYDE permission to discharge wastewaters in to Raccoon Creek, but a great many things have changed since then. Testing by Health Departments and the EPA recognized that this discharge was a source of pollution to the State's surface waters. The City of CLYDE built its first Wastewater Treatment Lagoons early in the 1900's as a WPA project. The City had grown and a new treatment plant was constructed in 1946. Additional capacity was needed and that plant was expanded numerous times in the 1950's, and in 1972. The old plant was torn down in 1985 and the present plant was constructed. The old plant could only process 1.5 million gallons of wastewater per day (MGD); the present plant was designed to process 4.9 MGD and has recently processed as much as 7.2 MGD. As the City rebuilds existing streets and new streets are added, the storm and sanitary sewer systems are separated. The storm water flows to the Creek and the Sanitary wastewater now flows to the treatment plant. When the additional flow creates hydraulic overloads on the system the CSO unit activates to relieve this stress. The City is taking a very proactive approach in continuing the separation process and this will continue far in to the future. Major construction is planned for this year, the sewer separation began when the down town street improvements took place. If there would be questions and comments please call the Wastewater Treatment plant at 547-9407 during business hours of 7:00 AM and 4:00 PM. Municipal Building | 222 North Main Street | Clyde, Ohio 43410 | Copyright © 2021 City of Clyde, Ohio