When the Ohio River Valley Sanitation Commission (ORSANO) started in 1948, 99% of sewage released into the river was untreated. Industrial pollution was common, and commentators reported oily slicks and a taste like kerosene.
Twenty years later, 99% of that water goes through treatment plants before it enters the river. Industries along the river abide by pollution controls set by ORSANCO, though there have been questions in recent years about how binding those standards should be.
Myriad fish species and other wildlife make the Ohio their home, and thousands gather along the river every year for recreation.
Officials with ORSANCO, the Metropolitan Sewer District, Greater Cincinnati Water Works, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the city of Cincinnati gathered along the riverfront Wednesday to celebrate that progress and talk about challenges that continue to affect the river.
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Executive Director Richard Harrison says the waterway has vastly improved during ORSANCO's tenure, but he acknowledges more work needs to be done. He said he hopes Congress can increase funding for the organization's work, which currently covers the watershed in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia with a staff of 22.
"We have over 250,000 miles of rivers and streams within this basin," he said. "Forty percent do not meet their water quality standards. This is a watershed-wide challenge and we're working with Congress to hopefully introduce legislation to invest hundreds of millions of dollars annually."
ORSANCO has deep roots in Cincinnati, where it started as the Cincinnati Stream Pollution Committee in the 1930s. Eventually, that committee won support from surrounding counties. An agreement between state governors in 1948 broadened the organization across state lines and created the ORSANCO that exists today.
"A lot of people don't realize how important this organization is," Cincinnati Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney says. "When you read about the condition of our rivers in the 1930s... oh my goodness. There were 60 sewer outfalls that poured 350 million tons of untreated sewage into our river every year. Not surprisingly, a lot of people were getting sick."
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Leadership with the Ohio EPA, MSD and Greater Cincinnati Water Works praised the monitoring and pollution standards work ORSANCO does during Wednesday's event at Smale Riverfront Park.
Ohio EPA Director Anne Vogel praised ORSANCO's pollution monitoring efforts in the aftermath of the East Palestine train derailment earlier this year. She says the organization was "up and running" within hours tracking chemicals from the disaster.
"The Ohio EPA celebrated just 50 years last year," Vogel said. "ORSANCO has been at it a lot longer. We wouldn't be here along the river the way it was 75 years ago."