Frequently Asked Questions

Clean H2O40 is a partnership between SD1, the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to balance the need to keep local waterways clean and safe with the need to provide affordable wastewater and storm water services in Northern Kentucky. Clean H2O40 is SD1’s commitment to increasing our capacity to better manage the flow of wastewater and storm water in Northern Kentucky. Through a number of strategic projects specifically designed to address sewer overflows, SD1 will meet the requirements of Northern Kentucky’s amended consent decree and improve the quality of life in our community. By the year 2040, we will completely eliminate typical-year sanitary sewer overflows and recapture at least 85 percent of all typical-year combined sewer overflows.

An agreement or settlement that resolves a dispute between two parties without admission of guilt (in a criminal case) or liability (in a civil case). On this website, references to a consent decree generally refer to an agreement between SD1 and state and federal regulators regarding enforcement of the Clean Water Act.

Each year, during heavy rainfalls about 1.5 billion gallons of raw sewage escapes the local sewer systems, which can lead to dirty rivers and streams, backed-up basements and flooded communities. Sewer overflows can occur for several reasons:

• Older, more urban parts of Northern Kentucky, such as Covington and Newport, have a combined sewer system that carries both wastewater and storm water in the same pipe.
• During heavy rainfall, the system fills up with too much water and overflows into local waterways. While this reduces the likelihood of sewage backing up into buildings or flooding local streets, it’s harmful to the environment.
• When the sewer system was first built, overflows were uncommon because there was lots of natural land to soak up the rain. But as Northern Kentucky developed, much of that land was paved over and now more storm water enters the sewer system and causes overflows.
• Overflows can also occur in newer areas of Northern Kentucky, where wastewater and storm water are carried in different pipes. This happens less frequently, and is often caused by blockages or broken pipes.

These overflows are a concern because they can threaten public health, safety and the environment.

The intentional or intentional diversion of flow from a sanitary sewer collection system that occurs before the head works of a sewage treatment plant. SSOs include discharges to waters of the United States as well as diversions to public or private property and the environment that do not reach waters of the United States, such as basement flooding.

A discharge from a combined sewer system at a point prior to the publicly owned treatment works treatment plant.

Under an amended consent decree, SD1 is required to eliminate all typical-year sanitary sewer overflows and recapture at least 85% of all typical-year combined sewer overflows by the year 2040.

This challenge is not unique to Northern Kentucky. There are hundreds of communities across the United States with aging combined sewer systems, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and many – including Cincinnati, Louisville, Columbus, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and St. Louis – are under federal orders to resolve their sewer overflow challenges.

In 2019, SD1 established an environmental surcharge, which funds projects that are aimed at eliminating sewer overflows. To learn more about the surcharge and billing methodology, visit our Understanding Your Bill page.

There are lots of ways you can help! Visit our Clean H2O40: How You Can Help page to learn more.