The Town of Richmondville is moving ahead on plans to create a sewer district.
The best of four options would pump from Podpadic Road to the Village of Richmondville’s sewer plant at an estimated cost of $10.1 million.
Much of the cost would be covered by grants—or the project won’t move ahead—Lamont Engineers Brendon Becker told members of the Town Board and a handful of individuals at a informational meeting on the project Thursday.
Estimated monthly cost to a homeowner for running the new system would be about $78/month; all would be required to hook up.
The Town Board used ARPA money to fund the Lamont report—and the report justified the need, Mr. Becker said.
Healthy Department dye testing and water qualify samples found the existing septic systems are not only infiltrating surface water, but tested positive and over the limit for e. coli and coliform.
The problem’s especially bad in Warnerville, said Lily Morgan from the Health Department.
“It’s one of the worst in the county,” she said, and not only is it keeping businesses from expanding, it’s making it hard for others to keep their doors open.
The cost for a homeowner to replace a failed system is estimated at $30,000, $170/month over 18 years.
Other options Mr. Becker looked at included pumping to the Village of Cobleskill, a system that’s already aging and stressed, at a cost of $8.7 million; building a conventional wastewater treatment plant for $12.5 million; and retrofitting existing home septic tanks with pumps maintained by the town for $10.8 million.
Going with the Richmondville option would open up the Route 7 corridor to development, Supervisor Jeff Haslun said—something that would also boost the number of property owners covering the cost of the project.
Mr. Becker said he’s looking at a number of federal and state grants for the new district; longterm zero-interest loans are also a possibility.
The town will hold a public hearing on establishing and moving ahead with the new sewer district and pursue funding of no more than $10 million on Tuesday, August 23, 7pm, at the Richmondville Firehouse.