CLEVELAND — The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District has issued a public advisory at Edgewater Beach due to "a combined sewer overflow event" that took place during Wednesday evening's severe weather across Northeast Ohio.
Officials say the overflow took place due to "a large storm that exceeded the capacity of the sewer system." The result was the discharging of a combination of sewage and stormwater into Lake Erie.
Visitors at Edgewater Beach, particularly children, the elderly, and those in ill health are being advised to avoid contact with the water and wood debris.
Crews from the Sewer District will sample water twice daily at 10 locations at Edgewater Beach, five that are close to the beach and five that are further from the shore. The samples will be tested to determine if E. coli bacteria levels are elevated. Once the samples are below the federal and state advisory standards of 235 (which equates to colony counts of E. coli per 100 milliliters of water), the advisory will be lifted, and the Sewer District will discontinue the twice-daily sampling.
The overflow from Wednesday marks the third such occurrence since July 10 at Edgewater. The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District addressed this in a series of posts on X.
