West Virginia Rivers Coalition (WVRC) and its neighbors in Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and other states have spent a large part of our time during the past year working to stop a proposal by the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) that would have lowered water quality standards for the entire length of the Ohio River-- 981 miles-- by allowing more sewage-related bacteria into the river during periods of heavy rain, snowmelt, and high water.

There are currently more than 50 communities with combined sewer systems overflowing raw sewage into the Ohio River during storm events. In West Virginia, there are ten communities, totaling hundreds of pipes overflowing raw sewage into the Ohio River. Larger combined sewer communities in West Virginia along the Ohio River include Huntington and Wheeling. Smaller communities include Wellsburg, New Martinsville, and Kenova.

The costs of fixing aging sewer systems are tremendous, but the benefits far outweigh these costs: cleaner communities, healthier ecosystems, fewer sewage related illnesses, increased recreational opportunities, more tourism, and an expanded market for economic development and waterfront revitalization.

WVRC and its partners submitted detailed comments about ORSANCO's proposal, created a dialog with ORSANCO staff, rallied support from the public, and eventually halted the proposal-- for now-- until the commission completes a study about recreational impacts.

ORSANCO had at one point justified allowing increased bacteria levels by suggesting that the Ohio River is not used for recreation. Citizens along the Ohio River surely let them know otherwise!

In the past, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated that 850 billion gallons of raw sewage and stormwater from CSOs are discharged into the nation's waterways each year.

The Ohio River forms the entire western boundary of West Virginia. Many of its tributaries are also drastically impacted by raw sewage problems.