Fourth Amendment better protects the river during recreation periods
Akron, Ohio, Oct. 7, 2026 — The City of Akron announced today that it has reached an agreement with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. EPA on a proposed Fourth Amendment to the City’s federal sewer consent decree. The amendment, if approved by the District Court, would eliminate the requirement to construct the Enhanced High Rate Treatment (EHRT) facility, a project estimated to cost over $300 million and provide little to no additional environmental benefit. In December 2025, Akron shared that the city had demonstrated it will meet its water quality allocation without the EHRT.
Today, the U.S. EPA filed a Notice of Lodging for the proposed amendment, triggering a 30-day public comment period which will start when the Notice of Lodging is published in the Federal Register. Subject to the comments received, the parties will ask the U.S. District Court to approve the Fourth Amendment following the public comment period. The amendment will not become final unless and until it receives court approval.
The agreement represents a significant milestone in Akron’s decades-long effort to overhaul its sewer system and dramatically improve the health of local waterways. In 2014, the District Court officially entered the federal consent decree between Akron, the Ohio EPA, and the U.S. EPA to address combined sewer overflows and other wet-weather discharges into the Cuyahoga River and its tributaries. Through its Akron Waterways Renewed! program, the City has undertaken one of the largest infrastructure programs in its history. Akron ratepayers have invested over $1 billion in this work. Of the 26 major projects required under the consent decree, Akron has completed 24 and is currently constructing the 25th, the Northside Interceptor Tunnel. With the completion of the NSIT at the end of 2026, 99% of the wet weather flow to the sewer system will have either been eliminated or captured for full treatment. Akron’s work will keep 2.3 billion gallons per year of untreated wastewater from being discharged to local waterways. The EHRT is the final remaining construction project required under the consent decree.
If Akron is required to build the EHRT, the $300 million facility would treat only three overflows in a typical year, making it an extremely costly solution. More importantly, Akron can meet state and federal water quality requirements without building it. Under the proposed Fourth Amendment, the City would instead disinfect wastewater treatment plant discharges for two additional months each year—April and November. This approach meets EPA-approved bacteria limits while also better protecting people who use the river for recreation. While the EHRT would operate only during the three largest storms of a typical year, when river recreation is unlikely, the additional disinfection would occur every day during those two months, when people are much more likely to be using the river.
“This is a tremendous win for Akron ratepayers and the result of years of hard work by Akron’s dedicated employees who have made the case that this additional project simply is not necessary,” said Akron Mayor Shammas Malik. “Our community has invested approximately $1 billion to transform our sewer system, and the environmental results of that investment are extraordinary. We are grateful that the U.S. EPA and Ohio EPA have recognized the progress Akron has made and agreed that our residents should not be asked to spend over $300 million on a facility that would provide little to no additional environmental benefit.”
Eliminating the EHRT would not only save ratepayers money, but it would also allow Akron to begin shifting its infrastructure focus from the federally mandated sewer improvements that have dominated the City’s utility investments for more than a decade. As Akron nears completion of that work, the City will increasingly need to focus resources on its aging drinking-water system and the investments necessary to ensure reliable water service for future generations.
“For years, an enormous amount of our infrastructure investment and organizational capacity has necessarily been focused on meeting the requirements of the consent decree,” said Director of Public Service Chris Ludle. “We are reaching the end of that chapter, but our responsibility to maintain critical infrastructure does not end with it. We now have an opportunity to turn more of our attention toward our aging drinking-water system and make the investments that will keep safe, reliable water flowing to Akron residents for decades to come.”