Welcome to the City of Omaha's combined sewer overflow program website. This site will help you understand what an overflow is and steps Omaha is taking to reduce waste water from overflowing into the Missouri River, Papillion Creek and Cole Creek. An overflow, called a CSO, happens during rains (or snowmelts) when stormwater enters the sewer system along with sanitary sewage and the capacity is inadequate. Currently this occurs an average of 54 times a year in Omaha. We want to reduce that number to four times a year.

Omaha is working hard to meet the unfunded Federal mandates.  Solutions to control the overflows have been identified.  Refinements to those solutions are in progress.
                
Browse around this site to learn more about this program. We've tried to anticipate your questions on the FAQ page. Numerous maps, photos and publications will tell you just what areas are directly affected by the construction and what guided the city to select the solutions it did. And you'll find newspaper articles, TV and radio stories as well as individual basin newsletters in the Newsroom.

If you still have questions, call our CSO Hotline at 402-341-0235 or email us.

Message from the Mayor

“We face a significant and long-term challenge to address combined sewer overflows in our community. The physical infrastructure of our storm sewer and sanitary sewer system in the older part of Omaha is no longer up to par, and its shortcomings impacts rivers and streams. Yet in solving this problem, we also have the opportunity to create solutions that benefit our neighborhoods and city in ways that go beyond merely complying with federal environmental regulations. I invite you to learn more about this issue, and to get involved in helping to shape the solutions.”

— Mayor Mike Fahey