Shows / Clean Water Works
Clean Water Works
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.
Episodes
- Clean Water Works
Ten Years of Regional Stormwater Management
Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we celebrate a milestone: 10 years of the Sewer District’s Regional Stormwater Management Program. Stormwater Program Manager…
- Clean Water Works
Call 811 . . . BEFORE You Dig!
Send us Fan Mail One careless shovel strike can turn a home project into a power outage or emergency situation, but it's easy to avoid! We sit down with…
- Clean Water Works
Protect your Pipes! Plumbing Tips with Joe Boziak
Send us Fan Mail Pouring grease down the kitchen sink seems harmless until the day the drain slows to a crawl. Joe Boziak, a master plumber with decades in the…
- Clean Water Works
Data Centers and Water Impacts
Send us Fan Mail UPDATE: This episode was recorded on July 1, 2026. On July 21, Ohio EPA announced it will NOT finalize a proposed general permit for data…
- Clean Water Works
Stream Design 101
Send us Fan Mail Concrete channels, buried creeks, and straightened streams simplified urban development but decades later we see the side effects: faster…
- Clean Water Works
Spring Storms and Other Emergencies
Send us Fan Mail We talk with Mark Christie, Director of Cuyahoga County's Office of Emergency Management, about severe weather in Northeast Ohio, damage…
- Clean Water Works
Ohio Stormwater Conference 2026
Send us Fan Mail Mike and Donna report from the 19th annual Ohio Stormwater Conference in Sandusky, OH. The day's presentations touch on education, stormwater…
- Clean Water Works
Native Plants and Invasive Species
Send us Fan Mail April is National Native Plant Month, and in this episode we talk with Sustainability Specialist Kevin Harrison and Paul Kovalcik of our…
- Clean Water Works
Stream Inspections
Send us Fan Mail A fallen log in a stream can serve as beneficial fish habitat or pose a flood hazard. Stormwater inspectors Kelsey Hickox and Andriana Hayes…
- Clean Water Works
Designing for Downpours: Stormwater Construction
Send us Fan Mail Rainfall can turn some roads into rivers. Construction Supervisor Joel Hill explains how his team keeps neighborhoods dry using basins…
- Clean Water Works
Lobbying for Clean Water Progress
Send us Fan Mail What actually leads a policy idea into becoming a clean-water milestone? We take you behind the scenes with Danielle Giannantonio, Senior…
- Clean Water Works
"Law & Odor" at the Sewer District
Send us Fan Mail Hey, it's hard to pass up a good pun. Even if we didn't talk much about sewer smells in this episode, we were excited to learn how our legal…
- Clean Water Works
Cleveland Water and Winter Weather Tips
Send us Fan Mail Freezing temperatures can test our municipal water systems as well as the pipes inside our homes. Water Commissioner Alex Margevicius explains…
- Clean Water Works
A Smart Lake and Economy with Cleveland Water Alliance
Send us Fan Mail A lake that learns can change a region. Sam Martin, Director of Communications and Engagement at Cleveland Water Alliance (CWA), shares how…
- Clean Water Works
Clean Water Superheroes: The Lake Erie League
Send us Fan Mail A new crew of superheroes, the Lake Erie League, is turning everyday systems into comic-book stories for kids and teachers to use in the…
- Clean Water Works
Underground Poetry with Literary Cleveland
Send us Fan Mail Art meets infrastructure! The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District partnered with the nonprofit creative-writing center Literary Cleveland…
- Clean Water Works
Tech Roundup: Drones, Automation, and Clean Water
Send us Fan Mail Technology continues to transform how the Sewer District manages wastewater and stormwater. Process Analyst Ron Maichle explains how the…
- Clean Water Works
Ohio's Infrastructure Report Card
Send us Fan Mail The newly released 2025 Ohio Infrastructure Report Card delivers a sobering assessment of the systems we rely on daily but rarely think about…
- Clean Water Works
Sustainability at the Sewer District
Send us Fan Mail What does sustainability mean for a wastewater utility? Sustainability Manager Marie Fechik-Kirk shares her thoughts on environmental…
- Clean Water Works
Wastewater Surveillance and Community Health
Send us Fan Mail A recent innovation, the National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) has transformed from an emergency response to COVID-19 into a…
- Clean Water Works
2025 Ohio Stormwater Conference
Send us Fan Mail Mike is at the 18th annual Ohio Stormwater Conference, where nearly 1,000 environmental professionals gather to discuss flooding, erosion, and…
- Clean Water Works
Bridging the Gap: Downtown Cleveland and Waterfront Access
Send us Fan Mail Imagine standing in downtown Cleveland and gazing at Lake Erie just blocks away, yet feeling disconnected by an intimidating landscape of…
- Clean Water Works
Restoring Doan Brook in Cleveland's Cultural Gardens
Send us Fan Mail The Doan Brook Watershed Partnership (DBWP) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) are collaborating on a stream-restoration project to…
- Clean Water Works
Lakeview Dam and Rethinking Urban Stormwater Management
Send us Fan Mail Clevelanders might not know about a massive concrete structure hidden within Lakeview Cemetery. Standing 89 feet tall, Lakeview Dam represents…
- Clean Water Works
Rooted in Knowledge: Horticulture at the NEORSD
Send us Fan Mail Horticulturalist Joe Dwyer is part of the Sewer District's Stormwater Inspection & Maintenance (SWIM) team. "A large shade tree can take up to…
- Clean Water Works
A Kayaker's Cuyahoga Cleanup
Send us Fan Mail Bedford, Ohio native Eddie Olshansky operates Trashfish, a volunteer organization focused on exploring and cleaning up the Cuyahoga River…
- Clean Water Works
Ken Duplay on Sewer Rates and Managing Finances
Send us Fan Mail Ken Duplay is Chief Financial Officer of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, and in this episode he shares insights from his 21-year…
- Clean Water Works
A 2024 Clean Water Recap with Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells
Send us Fan Mail What do horse riding and leading a utility have in common? Sewer District CEO Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells shares her top projects of 2024, the…
- Clean Water Works
Advances in Urban Flood Management
Send us Fan Mail Cutting-edge modeling techniques are being developed in an exciting collaboration between the NEORSD and Massachusetts Institute of Technology…
- Clean Water Works
Mayor Annette Blackwell and a Revitalized Maple Heights
Send us Fan Mail Mayor Annette Blackwell of Maple Heights and Keith McClintock, NEORSD Manager of Watershed Funding Programs discuss the transformative impacts…
- Clean Water Works
New Media for Water Communications
Send us Fan Mail Ever wondered how a podcast about sewers came to be? In this episode, roles are reversed, with our Public Information Specialist Jess Shutty…
- Clean Water Works
Stormwater Awareness Week!
Send us Fan Mail Kristin Hall is Executive Director of Cuyahoga Soil and Water Conservation District. She explains the distinctions between natural and urban…
- Clean Water Works
Wastewater Treatment and a "Garden of Bugs"
Send us Fan Mail What happens when a mechanical engineering grad steps into the world of wastewater treatment? Travis Pitts is Superintendent at the Sewer…
- Clean Water Works
Household Waste: What Goes Where
Send us Fan Mail Ever wondered if you're recycling correctly? Matt Walters is the Special Recycling Programs Coordinator for the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste…
- Clean Water Works
Ohio Stormwater Conference 2024
Send us Fan Mail SANDUSKY, OH: Anything you want to know about stormwater management you can learn at the Ohio Stormwater Conference. This year's event was…
- Clean Water Works
Dam Removals and the Cuyahoga's Comeback
Send us Fan Mail What if a local river, once notorious for pollution and even catching fire, could become transformed into a thriving ecosystem? We explore the…
- Clean Water Works
Warmer, Wetter Weather: Tackling Urban Stormwater Problems
Send us Fan Mail Cities with aging infrastructure face an uphill battle with regard to stormwater management, a challenge underscored by recent calamitous…
- Clean Water Works
Build Your Own Rain Garden
Send us Fan Mail Have you ever wondered how your green thumb can help the environment? Stormwater Technical Specialist Chris Hartman explains how to install…
- Clean Water Works
Pick Up Poop!
Send us Fan Mail Who knew that dog poop could contribute to water pollution? That's the topic of our conversation with NEORSD Asset Analyst Christina Toth and…
- Clean Water Works
Three Cheers for Engineers
Send us Fan Mail Have you ever stopped to consider how deeply engineering is woven into every aspect of your daily life? On the heels of National Engineers…
- Clean Water Works
#SaltLife: Fresh Water Worries
Send us Fan Mail Oversalt much? A conversation with Amy Roskilly of Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District and Natalie Gertz-Young of Lake Soil & Water…
- Clean Water Works
Play it Safe! with Carla and Robin
Send us Fan Mail What's the most dangerous job at the Sewer District? Sewer District safety experts Carla DeSantis and Robin Halperin discuss the dangers…
- Clean Water Works
Utilities & Affordability with Constance T. Haqq
Send us Fan Mail The costs of wastewater treatment and maintaining our vast sewer and stormwater systems fall almost entirely on our ratepayers. With many…
- Clean Water Works
Clean Water and "The Last Mile" with Erin Huber
Send us Fan Mail Based in Cleveland, Ohio, Drink Local Drink Tap is an international non-profit organization focused on solving water equity and quality…
Clean Water WorksFish, commish, delist: Lake Erie Commission talks "Areas of Concern"
Send us Fan Mail What is an "area of concern," or AOC? Hannah Boesinger of the Ohio Lake Erie Commission talks about projects to restore fish habitat and…
- Clean Water Works
The Freshwater Capital with Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne
Send us Fan Mail We asked Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne to join us for a discussion of his vision for a Freshwater Institute, some experiences from…
Clean Water WorksThe Cleveland Metroparks (and Zoo!)
Send us Fan Mail We welcome Jenn Grieser and Sean McDermott from Cleveland Metroparks for an overview of our remarkable park system, restoration projects that…
Clean Water WorksGreat Lakes Basics with Greater Cleveland Aquarium
Send us Fan Mail Lili Fikter is the Education and Interpretation Coordinator at the Greater Cleveland Aquarium. She gives an overview of the Great Lakes and…
Clean Water WorksPreview: Clean Water Fest 2023
Send us Fan Mail We hope you locals have Saturday, September 23 on your calendars. It's our annual in-person "open house," the CLEAN WATER FEST in Cuyahoga…
- Clean Water Works
Sewers, sewing, enduring: CarrieAnne McConnell's long water history
Send us Fan Mail CarrieAnne McConnell is Superintendent at the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District's Westerly Wastewater Treatment Plant. She has spent much…
Clean Water WorksEngineering a Solution: Tunnels and Project Clean Lake
Send us Fan Mail We often get asked about our tunnel-construction projects throughout the city—and with good reason. Engineer Doug Lopata discusses Project…
- Clean Water Works
Plum Creek: A Tale of Fish Translocation
Send us Fan Mail Cleveland native Justin Telep loves to fish. It makes sense then that he loves his job as a Field Biologist at the Sewer District. Justin and…
- Clean Water Works
The IT Crowd: Information Technology and Clean Water
Send us Fan Mail Two of our favorite IT guys, Adam Bruncak and Francis Cung, stop by for a chat about how Information Technology impacts all aspects of the…
- Clean Water Works
Trees in the City
Send us Fan Mail Samira Malone is Director of the Cleveland Tree Coalition. We discuss the multiple benefits trees provide in urban settings, the CTC's efforts…
Clean Water WorksSWIM lessons: Stormwater Inspection & Maintenance with Kristen Buccier
Send us Fan Mail Kristen Buccier is the Manager of our Stormwater Inspection & Maintenance team, brilliantly acronymed SWIM. We talked to Kristen about the…
- Clean Water Works
Small Plates: The 2023 Ohio Stormwater Conference
Send us Fan Mail SANDUSKY, OH: Mike and Donna attend the 16th annual Ohio Stormwater Conference and speak with stormwater enthusiasts on a variety of topics…
Clean Water WorksThe Interview is Everyday: Public Service and Clean Water
Send us Fan Mail Frank Greenland is a professional engineer and a key architect of two of the Sewer District's most ambitious and important programs: Project…
- Clean Water Works
Exclusive: CEO Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells talks leadership, learning, and what she listens to
Send us Fan Mail Donna and Mike met up with Sewer District CEO Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells for a conversation that touched on a wide range of topics, from her early…
- Clean Water Works
Our Watershed Partners
Send us Fan Mail Heather Elmer of Chagrin River Partners and Derek Schafer of the West Creek Conservancy join us for a discussion of watersheds, their…
- Clean Water Works
Tracking COVID in the Wastewater
Send us Fan Mail A follow-up to our conversation with Environmental Services Supervisor Scott Broski, on the Sewer District's involvement in tracking the…