If you get off the main road (Route 394) as you drive north and west from the BOCES School at Ashville and head down toward the lake, you will see construction equipment putting in the laterals for the new West Lake Sewer System extension. You will also see a lot of small, colored flags marking where current utility lines are or where the new sewer lines are being buried.

One homeowner commented to me about the small size ( 2-inch diameter) of some of the lateral pipes.

“How can they move sewage through such a small, diameter line?” he asked.

The quick answer is that these sewer laterals, because they are pressurized, can move a lot of sewage through a fairly small pipe. The heavy gauge plastic pipe being used will allow for pressure to increase or decrease as greater or lesser flowrate is needed to keep the waste water moving. The pressure is created by grinder pumps that essentially grind up the sewage, mix it with the other waste water, and then pump the residue up to the larger mainline located along Route 394.

Because of need for electricity to run the pumps, you will also see an additional small diameter, electric conduit pipe being laid in the ditch next to the sewer pipe itself. Each home will usually have its own sewage-grinder pump. It will be the obligation of the sewer district to pay for and maintain these pumps once the system becomes operational. The district follows a bi-yearly schedule of inspecting the pumps and replacing them when necessary.

Homeowners who will be hooked-up to this new system can be reassured that it will work, since similarly pressurized lines have now been working on the other side of the lake since the 1980s. In other words, the sewer district already has a lot of experience in operating and maintaining grinder pumps and pressurized sewage lines.

The 2-inch diameter lateral lines are sometimes complemented by a 3-inch intermediary line which then will connect to the 10-inch diameter main line running along Rt. 394. The pressure and velocity in the lines also helps keep them “scoured-out” so that effluent does not build up in the pipeline itself.

The current work of the contractor is now being focused on the shoreline properties stretching from Niets Crest north to Hadley Bay. This is being done so that shoreline construction can be completed and surface remediation in that area completed before next summer. The work on the main line along Route 394 is not scheduled to begin until after Memorial Day, 2022.

There is a special Facebook Page sponsored by the district for property owners now being affected. You may also check out the website of the South/Center Chautauqua Lake Sewer District. For those of you (like me) who don’t do Facebook–stay in touch with this column. I will try and keep you updated periodically on how things are going on this critically important piece of infrastructure being constructed to help maintain our beautiful Chautauqua Lake!

Rolland Kidder is a Stow resident.