UNDERSTANDING JEFFERSONVILLE’S SYSTEM
Combined Sewer System
The first sewers were constructed in Jeffersonville in approximately 1900. As was common practice at the time, these sewers were built as combined sewers – a sewer system that carries both wastewater and storm water in the same pipe.
As is typical in many Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) communities, Jeffersonville’s combined sewers are located primarily in the older, downtown area of the city – with approximately 989 acres spanning from Main Street west to the city’s corporate limits with the Town of Clarksville being served by combined sewers.
During dry weather and minor rainfall events, combined sewers transport sewage to the city’s Wastewater Treatment Plants. But during heavy rain events and snow melts, the storm water enters the sewer system in a greater volume or at a greater rate than the sewer system can carry. As designed, the combined sewers discharge the overflow of both the storm water and wastewater into a receiving body of water, creating a CSO. All of Jeffersonville’s CSOs discharge either into the Ohio River or Cane Run.
Jeffersonville has eliminated several of the CSO points initially identified in its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. Those include Riverpointe, Clark Street, Penn Street, Blanchel Terrace and the Woerner Street Flood Pump Station. The remaining CSOs are: Spring Street, Wall Street, Walnut Street, Meigs Avenue, Graham Street, the Tenth Street Pump Station, the Meigs Avenue Flood Pump Station and Mechanic Street.
Sanitary Sewer System
The development of the sanitary sewer system mirrors the combined sewer system, although most of the sewers in the sanitary sewer system are newer than the combined. Jeffersonville previously had several listed Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) points in its NPDES Permit and the Consent Decree. Those points included Arctic Springs, Mill Creek and Spring Street. At this time, the Mill Creek and Arctic Springs overflows have been eliminated. The elimination of the Spring Street SSO is in progress
As part of its CSO Long Term Control plan approved by the EPA in 2011, Jeffersonville also has developed a Public Notification Program to ensure the public receives adequate notification of CSO occurrences and their potential impact.
As such, interested members of the public can follow Jeffersonville Wastewater on Twitter @jeffwwcso to receive real-time notifications of CSO occurrences.
