Akron's sewer overhaul, and what it doesn't cover
Since a 2014 federal consent decree, the City of Akron has rebuilt much of its sewer system through the Akron Waterways Renewed! program. The City reports that ratepayers have invested more than $1 billion, that 24 of the 26 required major projects are complete, and that the Northside Interceptor Tunnel is scheduled to finish at the end of 2026. Together the work will keep about 2.3 billion gallons a year of untreated wastewater out of the Cuyahoga River and its tributaries. In October 2026 the City announced a proposed amendment, still subject to court approval, that would drop a planned $300 million treatment facility.
Those tunnels capture overflows in the public system. They do nothing for the catch basins in a shopping-center lot, the trench drains at a warehouse dock or the sump in a plant basement. Those structures are maintained by the property owner, and in Summit County's freeze-thaw winters they fill with road salt, sand, leaves and sediment faster than most owners expect.
What a full catch basin costs you
Once a catch basin sump fills, sediment washes into the outlet pipe. Water starts ponding at the grate, freezes into ice sheets in winter, and undermines the asphalt around the casting. Cleaning a basin with a vac truck takes minutes; replacing a collapsed casting or jetting a buried storm line costs much more. Most Akron-area commercial lots need cleaning at least once a year, and twice (spring after salt season, fall after leaf drop) for busy retail and apartment properties.
Common jobs we handle around Akron
- Parking-lot catch basin and storm inlet cleaning for retail centers, offices and apartment complexes
- Storm line jetting to clear sediment between basins
- Trench drain and floor drain cleanout at warehouses and loading docks
- Industrial sumps, pits and oil-water separators at manufacturing plants
- Lift station wet well cleaning and grease removal
- Restaurant grease trap pumping
- Emergency pump-outs after storms and backups
We handle non-hazardous material only: stormwater sediment, sewer debris, grease and process water that is not classified as hazardous waste.
Public or private?
Basins in public streets are the City's responsibility. Basins, inlets and storm piping on private property belong to the owner. In much of the area around Akron, county sanitary sewers are overseen by the County of Summit Department of Sanitary Sewer Services. For private property anywhere in Summit County, from Cuyahoga Falls and Fairlawn to Barberton, Green, Stow and Hudson, we can put you on a regular cleaning schedule.