At the end of August, the Toledo Waterways Initiative (TWI) Program completed construction on its final project, the Downtown Storage Basin, marking the end of the construction phase for the entire TWI program.

The Downtown Storage Basin project included the construction of an underground 17-million-gallon capacity CSO storage basin. With this facility now operating, combined sewer overflows to the Maumee River will be further reduced, resulting in improved public health and recreation.

Since the start of the program in 2002, TWI has completed 45 separate projects encompassing 48 square miles at a total cost of $529.65 million. This accomplishment means an estimated 650 million gallons of untreated sewage will be eliminated from our waterways on an annual basis, improving the quality of our rivers and streams. This is a major milestone, and it could not have been reached without the help from partners, community members and government officials.

At the conclusion of construction and upon U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) agreement, the Compliance Phase of the program begins. Post-construction compliance monitoring is the final step in the TWI Program. The City of Toledo initiated a 12-month program to collect real data from all the facilities functioning within the TWI program on April 1, 2022. This data will be evaluated and submitted to the USEPA to determine if the City has met all of its Consent Decree requirements at the conclusion of the monitoring effort and other related modeling and reporting activities.

The TWI project team thanks all those who contributed their time, resources, and support that helped make the TWI program a success.

Julie Cousino, Program Administrator for Toledo Waterways Initiative, passed away on Sunday, May 24, following a heroic battle with metastatic breast cancer.

Julie worked for 30 years with the City of Toledo and her career included both design and construction management of water, storm and sanitary sewers and roadway projects. In 2010, she joined the Toledo Waterways Initiative team and was named Program Administrator in 2014. Julie’s passion and dedication to the TWI program was apparent to anyone who met her. The completion of the program this coming fall will be bittersweet, as we celebrate this 20-year achievement without Julie, and wish she could be there with us.

On June 2, 2020, Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz, honored Julie’s life and work with an “in memoriam,” that noted her duty with the Toledo Waterways Initiative. “The City of Toledo is devastated by the loss of a wonderful person who served her community with excellence and distinction.”

To read more about Julie’s life, visit https://www.toledoblade.com/news/deaths/2020/06/05/toledo-blade-obituaries-julie-cousino-civil-engineer/stories/20200604160

Moving forward, David Selhorst will be the contact for the program. If you have any questions, please
direct them to him via email at David.Selhorst@toledo.oh.gov or by phone at 419-727-2615.

View In Memoriam from Office of the Mayor

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In 2019, the Toledo Waterways Initiative (TWI) Program achieved several Consent Decree Long Term Control Plan Critical Milestones. Final Completion was granted for the International Park Storage Basin, Swan Creek North Sewer Separation, and Paine and Fassett Regulator Modifications projects. With the completion of these projects, the untreated sewage that enters our area waterways continues to be reduced.

2020 promises to be an exciting year for the TWI Program. Construction will be completed in late spring for the last project, the Downtown Storage Basin. With its completion, an estimated 650 million gallons of untreated sewage will be eliminated from our waterways on an annual basis. This will improve public health and recreation by improving the quality of our rivers and streams.

Also in the early fall of 2020, we will be entering the Compliance Phase of the TWI program. Post-construction compliance monitoring is the final step in the TWI Program. Upon completion of all construction, the City of Toledo will initiate a 12-month program to collect real data on the performance of the facilities. This data will be evaluated and submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to determine if the City has meet all of its ConsentDecree requirements.

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Members of the TWI team updated the CPAC group on construction status for Q3 of 2019 and gave an overview of the Paine and Fasset Regulator Improvements.

Click here to view the CPAC Presentation Q4 2019

The Toledo Waterways Initiative once again sponsored and participated in the Clean Your Streams Day event on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019. TWI was one of several local organizations with educational and interactive tables at the Appreciation Picnic to reinforce the importance of clean waterways and ways volunteers can make a difference. This year marked the 23rd Clean Your Streams event in the Toledo region, and nearly 1,000 volunteers helped clean the area’s waterways. Hosted by Partners for Clean Streams (PCS), Clean Your Streams is an annual event that makes a positive impact on the environment and in our community. For three hours on a Saturday in September, volunteers join forces to clean tons of trash from more than 60 sites along 30+ miles of rivers in the greater Toledo area. All trash collected is recorded and later, with Ohio’s Coastweeks program and the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup, reported for local and international research. Over the past 22 CYS cleanups, 301,681 pounds of trash have been collected by 12,134 volunteers.
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During the quarterly meeting of CPAC and the Downtown Storage Basin BAC, members of the TWI team updated attendees on the TWI Program construction status for the third quarter of 2019 and gave an overview of the Downtown Storage Basin project. Following the presentations, members of both groups were taken on a tour of the basin construction site.

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The Toledo Waterways Initiative (TWI) and project partner E. S. Wagner Company have been awarded 2019 “Project of the Year” by the Toledo Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) for the International Park Storage Basin project.

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Members of the TWI team updated the CPAC group on construction status for Q1 of 2019 and gave an overview of the upcoming compliance phase.
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The Toledo Waterways Initiative presented to the Advocates for a Clean Lake Erie about how the TWI program is helping to protect local waterways.

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Members of the TWI team updated the CPAC group on construction status and PR activities for Q4 of 2018.
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