Combined sewer systems collect rainwater runoff, domestic sewage, and industrial wastewater in the same pipe. According to the EPA (2012), most of the time, combined sewer systems transport waste to a sewage treatment plant. While there it is treated and then released into a body of water. During times of heavy rainfall, these systems may become stressed; therefore, combined sewer systems are designed to overflow when needed into nearby streams, rivers, or other waterways (EPA, 2012). This untreated water can have negative impacts on the local ecosystems and communities. The CSO data were created by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Division of Public Affairs and Education; website: www.dec.ny.gov. CSO and CSO Outfalls are required to have state pollutant discharge elimination systems. These data were collected and published in 2011, but the data collection has been ongoing. These data were obtained from the Syracuse-Onondaga County Planning Agency.

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