In the 3 Rivers Wet Weather Demonstration Project's Lawrence-ville office, John Schombert is sitting in front of a floor-to-ceiling map of Allegheny County's sewer lines that is so detailed it wouldn't be surprising if it overflowed when it rained.
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John Schombert raises his hands as a rainstorm struck during a tour of the Monongahela River near McKeesport, organized by 3 Rivers 2nd Nature, a five-year ecological-arts project focusing on the streams of Allegheny County. (Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette)
Who he is:
 Name: John W. Schombert
Age: 53
Residence: Coraopolis
In the news: Schombert has been urging Alcosan-member municipalities to form regional partnerships to address sewage overflow problems as required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Quote: "I don't know of any system in Allegheny County that's overloaded because of tap-ins [from homes and businesses]. They're overloaded by storm water and leakage because of the age of the systems."
Education: 1970 graduate of Thiel College with a bachelor's degree in physics
Hobbies: Running, golf, skiing
Family: He and his wife, Linda, have a couple of golden retrievers.
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It also wouldn't be surprising if Schombert fixed it -- or was able to talk some of the 83 municipalities that are part of the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority into joining together to fix it ... at least eventually.
If words were pipe, the Wet Weather program's first and only executive director would have replaced the county's 4,000 miles of public sewer lines many times over during his four years as point man for the effort to build a consensus on how to address Allegheny County's sewage overflows during stormy weather.
But because the job also requires money, lawyers and pipe, his work days remain filled with meetings with government regulators and grant-makers, municipal officials and one or more of the eight "basin groups" that he has worked to organize in more or less geographic watershed configurations.
"It's fun, but sometimes I can't shake it. Sometimes I'm up at 4 a.m. thinking about it," the 53-year-old Schombert said. "The steps have been small -- I've been at this almost five years -- but we've made significant progress in getting people to think about the issue from good regional perspectives.
"Now it gets tough. Now we've got to do it. We've got to make it happen."
Whether it happens will depend a great deal on Schombert and the six employees he manages in the Wet Weather Project, a nonprofit, joint partnership between the Allegheny County Health Department and the sanitary authority, better known as Alcosan.
Schombert is a "big picture guy" who brings a unique perspective to the task.
The Coraopolis resident was employed for 29 years at the Allegheny County Health Department, the last 26 in the water pollution, public drinking water and waste management programs. He is a registered environmental health specialist and sanitarian, and has been a state certified sewage enforcement officer since 1974.
He is also board chairman of the Coraopolis Municipal Sanitary Authority.
In 1998, using a project in Detroit, Mich., as a model, Schombert proposed and led the way in creating the 3 Rivers Wet Weather Demonstration Project as a vehicle to focus attention on the county's sewage problems during storms.
"He has a technical background but he understands the policy side," said Tracy Porto, public outreach manager for 3 Rivers Wet Weather. "He was in regulation with the county and he understands the politics."
Patricia Schaefer, Edgewood Borough Council vice president and chair of the Eastern Communities Basin Group, said Schombert understands the regional sewage issue from many different angles.
"I see John as a miracle worker of sorts in dealing with so many different municipalities," Schaefer said. "Through his efforts and understanding of what's facing us -- the sewage problems, the turf battles, population increases and decreases -- we've been able to come as far as we have."
Schaefer measures that distance in the amount of trust Schombert has been able to generate and also in the number of meetings for her basin committee -- 14 by the end of June.
"He's been able to keep the basin committee together and meeting on something that sure isn't sexy," she said. "I think it's his forthrightness and integrity that people have responded to.
"He's extremely sensitive to where different groups are in their understanding of the issue, be it an engineering group, a solicitors' group or elected officials. He has an ability to articulate the issues and get people the information they need."
Most days he eats lunch at his desk -- tie thrown over his shoulder to avoid the sauce from the pasta his wife, Linda, packs for him -- while talking sewage on the phone.
"We always kid him that his middle initial, W, stands for Mr. Wastewater," Porto said. "He carries the workload of three and feels guilty when he takes time off for a vacation. He'll even talk about sewage, things like floatable swirl concentrators, as he's eating lunch. It doesn't bother him."
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