September 22, 2015 -- ALCOSAN and Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District – based in Cleveland – today received the results of the challenge to have the most guests at the respective open houses last Saturday. The news came from the official mediator of the contest, National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) CEO Adam Krantz. One part of the challenge, social media, had not been decided by the mediator this morning.

We’re are so pleased to have had the opportunity to collaborate with the staff and board at NEORSD,” said Jeanne Clark, ALCOSAN’s public information officer. “We each have the same tough job – to make the invisible visible, and help the public understand the out of sight, out of mind daily transformation of wastewater to clean water.

“The Open House challenge was our first major joint effort, and we’re excited for more opportunities to work together, sharing our expertise and experience for the good of both regions,” continued Clark. “If all of our collaborations are so successful – and so much fun – this will be a great new era.

“Our 2,013 guests came by car, chartered bus, public transit, bike and walked to the open house, where they had a great time and learned how we can all work together to make our rivers and streams cleaner.” continued Clark. Our employees pulled out all the stops to invite our guests, talking to everyone they came across – family, friends, community groups, churches, even strangers – to make sure we would not only win, but be able to show our ALCOSAN pride in the great, life-saving work we do. We are so grateful to everyone who made this team effort so successful.

“We are also proud of the NEORSD team’s results,” continued Clark. “They had 1,725 guests, a whopping 228% increase over the previous year! This is kind of increase is unheard of, and the staff in Cleveland clearly did everything right!  
“When we called for all of Pittsburgh to respond, we pledged to make this year’s Open House the best yet, and we succeeded,” continued Clark. “Our guests came early and stayed late, making sure they visited our exhibits, tours, and presentations, and many told us on the way out that they were ready to work for clean water. It was a great day. And, BTW, we won!”

NACWA’s Krantz said, “It was an honor to serve as the arbitrator of this incredible competition. Both utilities are winners as are their ratepayers, their communities and, most importantly, the Nation’s water quality and environmental progress!”