City will pay federal fine and begin 12-year project to fix sewage system.
People fish the Oswego River during a salmon run in front of the power dam in the city of Oswego. The city has been fined for polluting the river with sewage.
Oswego, NY -- The city of Oswego has been fined $99,000 by the state and federal governments for releasing sewage into the Oswego River.
A consent decree in the case of United States and State of New York versus the City of Oswego was filed in U.S. District Court May 12. The decree settles the federal claims against the city.
Mayor Randolph Bateman said the fine is less than the $125,000 originally proposed and could have cost more if city decided to fight the action against it. The $99,000 will be split evenly between the state and federal governments.
The mayor said the city was cited for sewage going into the river from two sources.
One is the section of pipe that runs from West Sixth Street east to the river that is a combined sanitary and groundwater system.
The second source is the sanitary sewer system west of West Sixth Street. This system “once in a while” has too much water coming in, resulting in overflow at the West Side Treatment Plant.
City Engineer Anthony Leotta said combined sewer system discharges into the river only a couple of times a year. The sanitary system overflow occurs about 30 times a year during spring runoff and during “severe rainstorms.”
In addition to paying the fine, the city this summer will begin the first part of a 12-year series of projects to correct these problems.
Leotta said the city will begin disconnecting 18 catch basins from the sanitary system on the west side of the city. This will eliminate some of the excess water going into that system.
A forthcoming expansion of the West Side Treatment Plant will solve problems in the sanitary sewer system, such as leaks or illegal storm water connections. And the combined sanitary-groundwater system east of West Sixth Street will be separated.
Leotta said the city already has separated its east side system. The practice of combining cities’ sanitary-stormwater sewer systems was common in 1800s, he said.
A consulting engineer has estimated the 12-year project will cost about $87 million, Leotta said.
Leotta said before the sanitary and groundwater systems are separated, the city will disinfect the river water where the discharge pipe enters to ensure good water quality.
Discharge of sewer into the Oswego River can lead to elevated levels of bacteria that can hurt fish and lead to too much algae in the river, depleting the water of oxygen.
Contact Debra J. Groom at dgroom@syracuse.com , 470-3254 or 251-5586.