Community Partnerships
One of MSD’s key strategies is to establish community and regional partnerships focused on sustainability and quality of life issues. In partnership with other organizations, MSD is able to build community relationships, promote environmental health, and contribute to economic development. Therefore, our ties to other organizations are vital to our ability to contribute to the quality of life in our service area. MSD’s partners come from many sectors, as the figure below shows.
Snapshot of MSD's Key Partners
Governments and Utilities | Neighborhood Organizations | Environmental Advocacy Groups | Academic Institutions | Business Organizations | Green Demonstration Project Partners |
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With our resources combined, we can achieve ambitious projects that help the overall quality of our region. For example, our 2009 efforts included the following:
- Mill Creek Restoration School Education Program – MSD helps sponsor this comprehensive, year-round, interdisciplinary, environmental educational program. The program is offered to middle school and high school students from the Cincinnati Public School District and from suburban and parochial districts in the watershed. The program emphasizes analytical and creative thinking and uses “hands on” learning experiences that include data collection, problem solving, and action taking.
- Hamilton County Construction Coordination – Construction activities associated with infrastructure improvement projects undertaken by multiple government agencies and utilities often create inconveniences for area residents and business owners. To help ease the frustration and improve coordination between projects, MSD partners with other utilities and governmental agencies to support CAGIS, a new electronic information system that displays planned projects and scheduling information. According to Jeff Aluotto, Assistant County Administrator, “A synchronized approach to non-emergency construction reduces instances of repetitive work in the same area, which is an understandable source of frustration to area residents.”
- Oyler School-Based Health Center – MSD employees have taken up the challenge: to support the Oyler School-Based Health Center through a variety of fundraisers. Over the past year, employees have raised more than $10,000 for this worthy cause. Oyler is a K-12 school for children in Lower Price Hill, which shares the neighborhood with MSD. “We are so proud to be a part of this initiative. The school-based Health Center is an important link to successful educational outcomes at Oyler School, and it gives our employees a chance to be a part of the success in our working neighborhood,” says Biju George, MSD Deputy Director.
MSD Partners with Strategic Program for Urban Redevelopment (SPUR)
In December 2001, the City launched SPUR, a program that utilizes interdepartmental expertise to identify, recommend, and prioritize brownfield redevelopment throughout the City. Brownfield redevelopment allows our community to reclaim and improve its lands, making previously developed property viable for new development. The City of Cincinnati is committed to its proactive approach in the redevelopment and revitalization of Cincinnati’s brownfield properties. Accordingly, the SPUR team’s mission is to identify and remove real or perceived barriers to development. The SPUR team consists of members from the Cincinnati Departments of Community Development & Planning, Environmental Compliance, Budget, Law, and Real Estate. Because sewer capacity is a primary requirement – and sometimes a limitation – for land development, MSD is a primary partner with the City of Cincinnati on most SPUR projects. Working with the City, MSD provides the technical support and expertise needed to ensure adequate sewage capacity for new developments while meeting regulatory requirements and the demands of the Consent Decree.