CLEVELAND — Lake Erie is a treasure that Alex Margevicius, comissioner of Cleveland Water, doesn’t take for granted.
“Not only is it important and critical for our drinking water, it’s a tremendous recreational asset as well,” Margevicius said. “The Great Lakes is the source of about 20% of the freshwater in the whole world. So it's a great, great source for us, and we're glad we have it.”
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, more than 11 million people depend on Lake Erie for drinking water, including about 3 million people in Ohio and about 1.4 million in Cleveland.
The Cleveland Water Department services five counties and is the 10th largest water system in the United States. Each day, millions of gallons of water are pulled in from Lake Erie through four different water intake cribs.
“Our intakes have been moved out multiple times over the years to put it farther out towards the center of Lake Erie, where the water is of a much better quality to get away from the human influences and pollution from the rivers for example,” Margevicius said.
At water treatment plants like Garrett A. Morgan Waterworks Facility, the lake water goes through an intensive 10-step process. Debris is removed, the water is filtered and disinfected and much more. Margevicius said Cleveland water is outstanding tap water.
“It is tried and trued," he said. "This plant is over 100 years old now, using fundamentally the same process here as has been used and is still used around the world in producing good, high-quality drinking water. We recently invested $650 million in rehabbing our four water treatment plants to bring them up to the great standards that they are. We're very proud of what we have here.”
Over the years, science advanced tremendously and officials strengthen the requirements for testing. Scientists and chemists collect and test about 300 water samples a day. This is to ensure the water doesn’t just meet federal and state drinking standards, but exceeds them.
“We test not only at the treatment plant — we test at hundreds of locations out in the distribution system as well, to make sure that water quality is maintained throughout our entire service area,” Margevicius said.
Margevicius knows we all rely on safe drinking water, even the commissioner himself.
“We think it's really great water," he said. "We think our report reflects that. We're delivering excellent water to the residents in northeast Ohio. I have an extended family of about 50 relatives all drinking this water. So I have a strong interest myself just to make sure that we're delivering the best possible water to our residents.”
For nearly 40 years, Margevicius has been working to provide safe drinking water to the residents of Cleveland, aiming to prove to them that tap water is not only a healthy choice but a smart choice for our bodies and the environment.
“By all means, drink our water, use a reusable bottle," he said. "Don't buy one-time-use plastic bottles for drinking water. They're bad for the environment, just clogging up landfills. But worse than that, getting into the lake, getting into rivers and streams, causing bad pollution, bad for the environment. Drink our tap water. That's what we recommend.”
The 2021 Water Quality Report is online. If anyone wants to do further testing of their water, Margevicius recommends using an Ohio EPA certified laboratory. For more information about Cleveland Water visit here.