Clean Water Superheroes: The Lake Erie League

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A new crew of superheroes, the Lake Erie League, is turning the hidden systems under our feet into comic-book stories for kids and teachers to use in the classroom. Across eight origin tales, these Northeast Ohio characters mirror very real aspects of the Sewer District's work, from massive tunneling machines whose creations tame storm overflows, to a miniaturized lab technician who can detect toxins no human eye could witness.

We start with Mackenzie, inspired by the tunnel boring machine behind Project Clean Lake, who illustrates how big civil infrastructure projects matter when big rainstorms hit. Spectra brings lab science to life with tests that our students can replicate in class, while Rover and Dr. Tao tackle tunnel inspections and the microscopic world of wastewater treatment. Botanica's story is rooted in Green Infrastructure, and Viz and Overwatch round out the Lake Erie League with "sewer CSI" adventures.

Teachers can request print copies of the new comic book for their classrooms and access the stories and activity sheets at neorsd.org/league.

Meet the Lake Erie League creators:

Joe Sieracki, writer

Miguel Hernandez, illustrator