Residents hear wastewater plant details

WATKINS GLEN—Some 70 residents attended a public input session held by the village of Watkins Glen Saturday, Dec. 7, to address the Project Seneca regional wastewater treatment plant. The meeting was attended by several members from both the Watkins Glen and Montour Falls village boards and began with a brief presentation before addressing questions from the audience.
Watkins Glen Mayor Mark Swinnerton said both the current wastewater treatment plants in Watkins Glen and Montour Falls are 50 years old. He said Watkins Glen is under consent order to update their facility due to 118 State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) violations, with outfall being within close proximity to public beaches and water intake. Montour Falls Mayor John King said they have 76 SPDES permit violations, and while they are not under consent order, he is told the village will get one soon.
Swinnerton said the regional treatment plant would cost $24.7 million with an annual operating and maintenance cost of $674,300. He said the cost includes the decommissioning of the old water treatment plants and the construction of new pump stations and force mains. Swinnerton said the estimated construction period will be between 2016 and 2017.
One of the concerns from audience members revolved around the increasing sewer rate costs for both villages. Swinnerton said no matter what action is taken, rates will go up. He said the village “should have raised their rates a long time ago.” Swinnerton said projected user fee charges with the regional approach will be $47 monthly, increasing from the existing $33 charge.
“Costs maintaining these systems is growing by the day,” Swinnerton said. “[...] Do nothing is not an option here. We have an obligation to take care of this lake.”
He said each village has alternative options available besides a regional plant, which include an new treatment plant at the current location on Seneca Lake for $8.72 million and a new treatment plant along the canal at a cost of $16.7 million. While both projects would be cheaper than the regional plant, Swinnerton said having the treatment plant at the current location poses problems for the lake. He added building a new one by the canal would have higher projected rates and would be more costly for the village to pay for on its own.
“I like the small town feel of our village, but we also need to grow, and in a smart way,” Swinnerton said. “[...] We are not being good stewards right now. We are here to fix that.”
King said the alternatives for Montour Falls include upgrading the current facility at a cost of $2.54 million or building a new plant for $5.87 million. He said upgrading the plant would not be a viable option because it would not be long before they had to upgrade it again. Scott Rodabaugh of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) said the facilities are facing the limits of their technology, adding increased federal standards will be coming soon that an upgraded facility may not be able to address.
King said replacing the plant entirely would be nearly $6 million being spread across a very small amount of homes, which would increase their debt burden on each one. Swinnerton said the projected rates for a regional plant are flatter than both alternatives due to shared services between the villages.
Residents in the crowd were also concerned about the sharing of costs between all parties involved evenly. Swinnerton said that is one of the complications they are trying to sort out currently, adding they hope to have more information regarding it at the January meeting. He said they are also talking about selling any available capacity services to nearby municipalities, which can generate additional revenue.
The location of the new facility was another concern voiced by the crowd. Swinnerton said they are narrowing it down from six possible options, one of which includes the historic UDS site located along the canal. Rodabaugh said they are involved with the project in helping determine which site is best environmentally. He said the final location decision will still be determined by the municipalities. Managing Engineer at Barton and Loguidice Shannon Harty said there have been “a tremendous amount of environmental studies” that have been conducted in the last year, adding it is something they are taking “very seriously.”
The village of Montour Falls will be holding their own public input session Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. at the Montour Falls Fire Hall.