Clean Water Advocacy - Newsroom - NACWA in the News
Suburban Spotlight: Sewer Woes Drain Budgets
Aging Pipes Often a Misery; Fix-up Aid in Short Supply
Erica Bryant
Staff writer
(January 28, 2007) — IRONDEQUOIT — Rain sends the Smiths on Kiniry Drive and their neighbors into a panic.
Because of bad connections in their section of the Irondequoit
sewer system, heavy precipitation has meant sewage in their basements and tens
of thousands of dollars of damage to their property.
The problems in this neighborhood add to millions of dollars worth of repairs
that Irondequoit must make to its aging sewer system.
Other older communities such as Brighton and East Rochester, whose sewer pipes
were laid early last century, have similar needs.
The challenge lies in finding resources.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that by 2019, the gap
between infrastructure needs and money actually spent maintaining sanitary sewer
systems in the United States could pass $270 billion.
Local leaders who are trying to keep property taxes down, such
as Irondequoit Supervisor Mary Ellen Heyman, are seeking state and federal help.
Irondequoit residents can expect some commitment of state funding that can be
devoted to sewer repair within the next few weeks, said Derek Murphy, spokesman
for Assemblyman Joe Morelle, D-Irondequoit.
Sen. James Alesi, R-Perinton, said he plans to work with the
town to take a comprehensive look at Irondequoit's flooding problems.
"I don't want to do it piecemeal," he said. "We need a massive project, not just
a Band-Aid."
Irondequoit is currently working its way through a long list of sewer trouble
spots.
Labor Foreman Wally Becker, who has been dealing with these sewers for 33 years,
estimates that there have been problems in about 10,000 homes in Irondequoit.
Last year, smoke testing in the Kiniry Drive neighborhood revealed, for example, some storm sewers and catch basins are directly connected to sanitary sewers.
Sanitary sewer pipes, which are about 6 to 8 inches in diameter, are made to deal with household waste, not heavy rain flow.
Because sanitary sewer pipes can't drain storm water from this
area quickly enough, basements, backyards and streets become flooded.
'River' of misery
"Every time it rains, it looks like we have a lakefront property," said Marilu Smith, who went through 6 gallons of bleach cleaning up after the most recent flood last July, which sent around 4 inches of sewage and storm water into her basement. "We call it Kiniry River." Marty Piecuch, Irondequoit's Commissioner of Public Works and Highway Superintendent, doesn't know who made this engineering error. It likely dates back to the 1930s and '40s when the sewers were laid.
The town has diverted some sewer lines to ease up the pressure on Kiniry Drive sewers and is currently sending cameras underground to find out exactly where storm sewers and catch basins are connected to sanitary sewers. Piecuch thinks there are one or two big connections that can be disconnected by town employees this spring.
Finding the millions of dollars it will take to fix all of the
problems with Irondequoit's aging sewers is a longer-term challenge.
"The biggest problem we have in town is sanitary sewer backup," he said.
One outside funding source that may shrink is the Clean Water State Revolving
fund, a state and federal program that provides low interest loans for water
infrastructure projects.
Greece, for example, has made use of this fund to build new
sanitary sewer systems in areas where septic systems were failing or were in
danger of failing.
The Environmental Protection Agency has said that federal financial support for
this program will likely end in 2011. The federal government currently provides
80 percent of the capital funding for the CWSR fund, said Ben Grumbles, the
EPA's assistant administrator for water.
"We think the most sustainable approach is to bring in local government, state
government and the private sector."
Dismay over funding
Susan Bruninga, director of public affairs for the National Association of Clean
Water Agencies, is dismayed that federal support for the Clean Water State
Revolving fund has dropped from $1.35 billion in 2001 to a proposed $688 million
this year. Her organization is pushing Congress to set up a trust fund for water
infrastructure.
"The need is so great," she said. "A lot of these systems are 100 years old."
Brighton is another older suburb with a long list of sewer
trouble spots. Smoke testing of about 90,000 feet of sanitary sewers helped
reveal, for example, cracks in storm sewers leaking into cracks in sanitary
sewers that lie below. This contributes to sewer backups and floods.
"We have been out for the past two years and will be continuing for many years,
finding areas of defect and better waterproofing sanitary sewers," said Tom Low,
Brighton's Commissioner of Public Works.
Brighton has paid for the rehabilitation of its sanitary sewers. It is seeking state aid for help to repair faulty storm sewers, which contribute to sanitary sewer overloading.
East Rochester has torn out much of its aging sanitary sewer system. "We're a 100-year-old village," said Village Administrator Tony Argento. "We have infrastructure that is in many places old. We replace where is necessary and where we can."
East Rochester's government has funded most of its upgrades but
it received a $192,400 federal grant to help fund replacement of sewers on Main
Street, work that was completed last year. Sewers along Maple Street, where the
CSX train derailed earlier this month, are scheduled to be replaced next.
In newer suburbs like Perinton, Henrietta and Webster, where sewers were laid
within the past 50 years or so, officials say that, for now, they are able to
focus on routine maintenance.
Irondequoit and Kiniry Drive residents are hoping that their problems can be fixed before the spring's first heavy rain.
Upbeat despite stress
Despite the emotional and financial drain of repeated flooding,
residents such as Karla Crombach, who has been through five sump pumps trying to
deal with the flooding, are committed to their street.
"I probably should have moved but I love my house," said Crombach. "I didn't
want to leave. It's a nice area. It's beautiful and I love it."
EBRYANT@DemocratandChronicle.com