Pictured are members of the Chautauqua County Legislature P-J photo by Gregory Bacon

MAYVILLE – Chautauqua County is starting the process to have another sewer extension on Chautauqua Lake.

Once this piece is in place, which will take a few years, public sewers will be around the entire lake.

During the county legislature meeting, lawmakers agreed to spend $40,000 on the East Chautauqua Lake Sewer Study. This section will run from Midway State Park in Ellery to Galloway Road in the town of Chautauqua.

The money is coming from the county’s American Rescue Plan Act funds, which the county received from the federal government to help municipalities recover from COVID-19.

The entire sewer extension is in the legislative district represented by Legislature Chairman Pierre Chagnon, R-Ellery.

Chagnon explained that the first step is to study how the area should be sewered. The options include sending the waste to the South and Center sewer treatment plant in Celoron, sending it to the north Chautauqua Lake Sewer Treatment plant near Mayville, divide the waste between the two plants, or construct a new treatment plant.

Chagnon added that he suspects a new treatment plant will not be needed, however the state requires all options be studied.

According to Chagnon, once the study is finished, a map and plan will need to be developed.

Once the plan is fully reviewed, the county legislature would need to decide to move the project forward, including bonding money.

Chagnon said if everything goes well, the county could be seeking funds a year from now.

Depending on the timeline of grant approvals, Chagnon said it’s possible the project could go out to bid by the fall of 2026 and get users connected by the fall of 2027.

Once that is finished, “the perimeter of the lake will be entirely public sewers,” Chagnon said.

There are other areas the county may want to examine, Chagnon noted.

Ashville, for example, sits in a low swampy area on Goose Creek. “A lot of that septic waste from their septic tanks is transmitting into the lake,” he said.

But for now, Chagnon is looking forward to this next phase between Midway State Park and Galloway Road, which will complete public sewers around the entire perimeter of Chautauqua Lake.