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This past week, a ribbon was cut and the county officially announced that the Sewer Extension Phase II for the West Side of Chautauqua Lake is now ready for hook-ups.
If this had been a church setting, you might have been tempted to shout "Hallelujah!" or "Amen!" but, in any event, it was an important occasion.
I don't think that the general public realizes what it takes to bring such a large project of this type to fruition. A Sewer District expansion requires the approval of the municipalities involved. It also requires the creation of or expansion of sewer district boundaries and all of the legal requirements that entails.
Next, of course, comes financing. The State Comptroller will not approve any of this unless the district is "affordable," and that means that millions of dollars in state and federal assistance were required. The County, to its credit, designated funds from Washington–those generated by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law which was enacted in response to the last economic downturn--to be invested in this important health/environmental improvement project on Chautauqua Lake. Funding from the state's Environmental Facilities Corporation also contributed substantially to the project.
Then, of course, the project had to be designed and engineered, needed to be bid, the bid awarded, various highway and environmental permits granted…all of this before a shovel full of dirt could be moved or a pipeline laid.
The good news in terms of financing is that Phase II construction costs came in at $4 million less than had been projected, thus substantially reducing the annual homeowner fees that will be charged. (The annual cost for sewer service includes operating costs as well as the debt service on the local share needed to complete construction.)
Many worked to bring Phase II to a successful conclusion, but special recognition should be given to County Legislator and Legislative Chairman, Pierre Chagnon, who has been directly involved in getting sewers built around Chautauqua Lake for the past 40-50 years. He has understood, through experience, that something like sewer construction takes a long time and requires a lot of work in order to be completed. Kudos also to all of the other public officials involved and Sewer District employees for their persistence in getting this done.
This new section of sewers (as are most around the lake) is a pressurized system where pumps and pumping stations are required. This means electricity is also needed. Workers at Cummins will be interested to know also that backup generation at the major pump station locations will be powered by Cummins natural gas engines.
The Sewer District is responsible for maintaining, providing the electricity for, and then installing the various pumps and pump grinders which are a part of the system. Landowners are responsible for the connection going from their house to the nearby pump grinder.
It is time now for residents from Stow to Prendergast Point to engage an approved contractor to make these connections from their home to the new sewer.
But, back to the achievement--thanks again to all of the Sewer District personnel, public officials, the contractors and workers on the job who got us to this point. Thanks also from Chautauqua Lake-- it will be a prime beneficiary of this work!
Rolland Kidder is a Stow resident.