Village Highlights

The Village is located in Northeast Ohio, in Northern Summit County, and in the middle of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP).  Given its location, the Village serves as the historic and cultural center of the CVNP, and its quaint shops and restaurants have made it the gateway for many of the CVNP’s nearly 3 million annual visitors.  The Village has become an indispensable part of the CVNP, which is now the 9^th most visited National Park in the United States

Project Background

Summit County Public Health (SCPH) and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) confirmed, through sampling, elevated levels of E. Coli being discharged from the Village’s individual sewage treatment systems to the Cuyahoga River which has, over recent years, seen immense clean-up and restoration measures. Due to the Village’s small size and limited tax base, an affordable sanitary sewer solution had been virtually impossible to secure.

Project Development and Funding

As a result, in early 2024, the County of Summit will commence with the engineering design to construct and install sanitary sewer collection and water reclamation treatment facilities in the designated Village sewer district to address ongoing environmental issues affecting the Cuyahoga River. A preliminary engineering report was completed by Environmental Design Group (consultant) that established an initial cost estimate of $10 million. Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro has set aside $7.5 million of local funds and has obtained a $500,000 grant from the State of Ohio (H2Ohio funds). This funding provides a financially viable plan to bring sewer service to its residents and businesses. The County is pursuing additional resources to close the project funding gap and ensure the project moves forward to bring further environmental enhancement and sustainability to the Cuyahoga River and provide critical infrastructure facilities to a gateway community to the CVNP.

Link to Preliminary Engineering Report:  https://co.summitoh.net/files-generic/Peninsula-Sanitary-Sewer-Study.html

Project Status

As stated, DSSS expects design work to conclude by fall of 2024 and expects the sewer system to be operational by January 2026. SCPH will then work with district residents and businesses to connect their individual properties to the sewer system.

Proposed Location:

The recommended location of the proposed Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) is in the Northeast corner of the Village, on Village-owned land along Akron Peninsula Road. This location is relatively flat and isolated from adjacent properties.  For additional location details see the Preliminary Eningering Report linked above. 

• Village of Peninsula PowerPoint Slide WWTP (PDF, 2781.5k)
• Village of Peninsula Q-208 Request for Qualifications (PDF, 1210.9k)