Historic Moment: Village sewers

By Jorge Batlle

Village Historian

The City of Syracuse was allowed to take water from Skaneateles Lake in 1893. It was in the City’s best interest to protect the lake and watershed from pollution.  A 1902 regulation from the State Board of Health, Section 72 part 1104 said in part – the municipality ….owning the waterworks benefited thereby, shall at its own expense, construct  and maintain such system of sewerage… and provide such means of removal and purification of sewage and such works or means of sewage disposal  as shall be approved by the State Board of Health.

This meant that the New York State Health Department has the authority to compel a municipality, owning a waterworks, to construct sewer facilities in a hamlet located within the watershed.

An editorial in the Syracuse Post-Standard  said in part – The law is quite unmistakable. Skaneateles Village must be supplied with a sewerage system in order to protect the water supply of Syracuse from contamination. Syracuse must pay the bill, the whole of it, not only for construction of the sewerage system, but for the maintenance thereafter

There was much back and forth discussion of who is going to pay for what. April of 1903 the estimated cost of the sewer system as $48,000. (that is $1,244,620 in 2017 dollars) That breaks down to: $36,620 for the sewers, $3,250 for the disposal plant, pumping station $1,000 and adding $6,130 for engineering and contingencies, and $1,000 for the drawings brings the project total to $48,000. Over and above this was an escrow account of $26,800 at 3-1/2% interest which will pay for maintaining the disposal plant.

Sept. 30, 1903 work began on the project.  John Davin of Syracuse, the prime contractor said that 60 men were at work on the sewers. J.S. Bull of Cortland was the contractor for the disposal tank. Village Engineer Thomas will supervise the work and the Syracuse Commissioner of Public Works will look after the part that Syracuse pays for.

The disposal tank an 87,500 gallon septic tank was placed on land on West Elizabeth Street next to the Creek, purchased from MC Dewitt for $500.  Here this tank would settle out the solids and pass the effluent out into the Creek.

In a 1904 State Department of Health report used a formula for disposal of sewage. 150 gallons per capita, multiplying that by the Village population, and the minimum flow down the Creek yielded an acceptable  dilution rate of 40 volumes during the dry season where Creek flows are very small.  The first modern Village Waste Water Treatment Plant operator George Wettlaufer spoke of a basic tenet of water engineering – The solution to pollution is dilution. This must have been the practice back in 1904. Based on the Village population, that calculated a minimal  flow down the Creek of 5,600,000 gallons per day.

The septic tank system became very inadequate, and very poorly maintained. In 1958 the City built a primary treatment plant at Willow Glen, near the intersection of Mill Road and Old Seneca Tpke.  The Village septic tank facility was changed to pump the waste water by an 8 inch cast iron force main north to the new plant. The design of this plant was the Imhoff type,  with a capacity of 388,000 gallons per day, acceptable technology of that time. The un-disinfected  effluent is discharged in Skaneateles Creek with a submerged outfall. The only chlorination is done at the Village pump station, primarily for odor control.

In 1969, the State Environmental Conservation issued orders to the City of Syracuse to “improve the treatment plant or replace it to bring it up to current standards.” A second order was issued to the Village for sanitary sewer overflows which allows sewage and storm water to mix and discharge untreated into the Creek. There was also a prohibition for new sewer connections. After 5 years of reviewing for collection and treatment of sewage, under the urging of Mayor Carl Fisher, the Village decided to build their own waste water treatment plant. The estimated cost of the project was $2,849,000, with 87.5% picked up by State and Federal funds, $186,000 the Village share, and $160,000 from the City of Syracuse. In 1978 the cost of the new plant was estimated to be $3,449,000 with Federal aid of $2,587,000. State aid of $405,000 and the City $106,000. The Village share is now $351,000.

Spurred on by the second DEC order, the Village undertook an intensive program to reduce the inflow and infiltration that caused hydraulic overloading of the system. Sewer lines were sealed with grouting. Storm water overflows were eliminated, and homeowners’ roof rain gutters and footer drains were removed from the system.

In anticipation of the new treatment plant, April of 1977, the DEC announces plans to upgrade Skaneateles Creek from a “D” level to a more protective CT rating, good from trout fishing.

After months of very heated discussions, September 27, 1978 the Town voted at annex into the Village part of the Village owned property behind the Fennell Street DPW barns, but not the property that fronts on Fennell Street. This 200 foot wide strip will stay on the Town tax rolls.

January 1979, there was a dispute between the Onondaga County Board of Health and the State DEC which held up the engineering drawings for the treatment plant. The dispute was about chlorination and de-chlorination of the final discharge water into Skaneateles Creek. The County sued the Village and the DEC over this matter in December of 1979. February 13, 1980, State Supreme Court Judge Edward McLaughlin reserved decision on this dispute which further delayed construction of the treatment plant.

March of 1980, the Village sought additional funds since bids came in $500,000 above the estimated cost.  August 1981, there was finally visible physical evidence that the treatment plant was under construction.

Due to increasing Federal and State requirements for water purity, the cost of the plant went up. The now $4 million facility is capable to treating 500,000 gallons of sewage daily. It is one of the most sophisticated in the State.  Under construction for two years, it began full operation on January 1, 1983. The Village Waste Water Treatment Plant operations is another story.