Report: Elizabethtown needs wastewater treatment system

ELIZABETHTOWN | Town of Elizabethtown officials submitted their Intended Use Plan for the proposed wastewater treatment project to the state Environmental Facilities Corporation in late May. The IUP outlines the community's financial picture and provides scientific data related to need for critical infrastructure. Evaluation of a municipal IUP draws from formal engineering reports and is scored based on a system of project priority, regulated by state law. Scoring includes merit for IUP improvement, restoration of water quality, financial hardship and on whether a project takes aging septic tanks out of service. In Elizabethtown, engineers with Suozzo, Doty & Associates, of Lake Placid, updated the preliminary report issued last year. Environmental quality research provided data indicating pollution points on three major waterways: the Branch and Barton Brook that join before flowing into the Boquet River. The proposed Elizabethtown wastewater treatment project encompasses 281 parcels of property, 35 of which are vacant. The wastewater district stretches from the bridge at the top of Water Street to the Fisher Bridge at the Route 9 junction of Lincoln Pond Road, and the bridge at the northern end of Deep Hollow Pond. Inside that boundary, there are several major civic and business facilities: the Elizabethtown Community Hospital and nearby Health Center with an expansion ongoing for physical therapy services. There is the central Essex County complex with the Department of Motor Vehicles, county and supreme courts and attendant offices for legal and health department resources throughout town. The Essex Center for Health Care Nursing for the elderly is in the wastewater district. There are three car dealerships in Elizabethtown. And there are business operations that include a grocery store, restaurants, the Adirondack History Museum, the community library, convenience store and gas station, and densely populated rows of private homes. Elizabethtown is the only county seat in New York State that does not have a wastewater treatment plant. ANTIQUATED SEPTIC SYSTEMS Of the 246 on-site septic systems in the proposed sewer district, 83 percent were built between 1880 and 1976. Engineers provided a map of parcels with outdated systems in red. Most systems in Elizabethtown do not meet current design standards -- 138 septic systems are on a half-acre of land or less, and 76 parcels (27 percent) have more than half their property within the 100-foot setback from wetlands and/or a stream. According to the engineering survey, only six of the sewer district's septic systems were built since 2019. Only nine were repaired or replaced in-kind since 2019. WATER QUALITY STUDY Engineers also measured existing water pollution. Their report, The Water Quality of Streams and Rivers in Elizabethtown, NY, used data from nine water quality monitoring stations. Sampling was conducted monthly May through November, with weekly sampling September through October last year. Monitoring sites tested water from the Branch at a high point on High Street and at Barton Brook on Fox Run Road. These were compared with data from lower points on Water Street at the confluence of the Branch and Barton Brook (near the Noble Terrace intersection). Monitoring was also done at the mouth of the Branch and at the Essex County parking lot drain, in addition to a point on the Boquet River, north of the Hamlet area. Results showed fecal coliform bacteria were higher downstream compared to upstream. E. coli bacteria were higher downstream compared to upstream. Chloride was higher downstream compared to upstream. And conductivity was higher downstream compared to upstream. Nitrate-nitrite levels rose downstream compared to upstream. ECONOMIC IMPACT The engineering report incorporates some of the adverse economic impacts faced by Elizabethtown as the community looks to plan for housing and business growth. Lack of wastewater treatment limits addition of new or expansion of existing business, the report said. County and municipal facilities cannot consolidate; residents and business operations face excessive costs to have septic tanks pumped; and Elizabethtown has not been able to permit new businesses, particularly restaurants, bakeries, breweries, laundromats or car washes. The lack of wastewater treatment also reduces opportunities to use existing or create new housing, which in turn impacts municipal, school district, institutional and commercial staffing, impedeing economic growth. WASTEWATER TREATMENT DESIGN The proposed Elizabethtown Wastewater Treatment Plant would be placed behind Cobble Hill Golf Course, a site selected over 15 years ago in community referendum. The total cost for construction and system installation is projected to be $38 million. Two new buildings would serve as the collection plant with the headworks, tanks, screens, filtration systems, and three reed beds to treat waste sludge. The effluent would be treated with ultraviolet (UV) light to kill any harmful bacteria, viruses or other pathogens before it is piped under Route 9 north of Deep Hollow Pond and released into the Boquet River. Outfall -- the impact of effluent -- would be less polluted than water currently moving into the rivers from over 200 existing, non-conforming septic systems. The engineering study found wastewater outfall will contribute less phosphorus to the Boquet River than what is being contributed by septic systems. Influent from former septic systems is measured to be 10 pounds per day of phosphorus (8 mg/L). That will decline to 0.1 pounds per day, a 99 percent removal. The system proposes construction of five main pump stations to move wastewater up from River and Water streets and from the plains to the treatment plant. Stations are proposed at Hand Avenue, Woodruff Street, at the Community Center, at Noble Terrace and at Footbridge Lane. The plan is pending state evaluation for funding need. ....................................... MAKING THE MATH WORK Supervisor Cathleen "Cathy" Reusser has worked with the Town of Elizabethtown Wastewater Treatment Project Committee to bring this facility design into focus and in front of state and federal officials. Finding a way for Elizabethtown to afford a $38 million facility has been a priority, she said. An income survey completed in June 2023 determined the town has "hardship status," as defined by state agencies. This enables municipal access to interest-free loans and additional grants. "My job as supervisor and the Town Board's job, is to recognize financial tolerance of people in the wastewater district. All of the work we're doing is to bring as much outside support money as we can," she told the Sun. "I would not go forward with a project that is going to cause undue stress to the people of the wastewater district." On May 21, she said, the town and engineers from Suozzo, Doty & Associates submitted Elizabethtown's updated IUP to New York State EFC. "That is the bipartisan infrastructure funding allocated by the federal government that is implemented by the state. It covers up to 50 percent of project costs," Reusser explained. EFC's response is due in September. "The project we submitted will receive a score and that score will determine our level of funding, up to 50 percent," Reusser said. "When EFC determines their level of funding, that sends a message about our project to other funding sources, including the Water Infrastructure Improvement (WIIA) program, Northern Border Regional Commission, and the Water Quality Improvement Project (WQIP) program." FACING THE CHALLENGE With a total Town of Elizabethtown budget of $2.2 million, Reusser is keenly aware of the challenge to build a $38 million project that will support fewer than 300 existing users, plus meet needs from local business, including the Boquet Central School District, Essex County facilities, the community hospital, health center and nursing home. "The hospital is spending thousands of dollars every month to test their system and report the information. That is money taken away from direct healthcare needs. The nursing home has a very old wastewater system perched above the Branch. We have a downtown restaurant that can't seat customers because they're under DEC consent order for septic replacement. "The hospital in Elizabethtown is the only hospital in New York State that is on a septic system," Reusser said of the community's need. "UVM Health Network is building a $9 million physical therapy office for the hospital. It's under construction right now. They're putting in a private septic system. There is another example of healthcare dollars going into wastewater treatment." SEARCH FOR 100% FUNDING Gov. Kathy Hochul has allocated hundreds of millions in state funding toward critical municipal infrastructure, water and sewer, Reusser said. "My goal is to fund this at 100 percent, knowing that the math doesn't work. People inside Wastewater District 1 cannot afford a $38 million wastewater treatment project." The cost of running pipes to each house or building would be covered by project financing, Reusser said, and for pumping and closing down several hundred antiquated septic systems. "We absolutely need a wastewater treatment system in Elizabethtown. Without it, we are not able to repair or innovate downtown, there can be no downtown revitalization, no additional housing. We cannot grow and prosper, and there's no motivation for people to improve their properties." Lack of wastewater infrastructure also impedes community access to grant funding. "When you're filling out grant applications for restoration or community revitalization, one of the first questions asked is 'do you have a centralized wastewater treatment system?'" Reusser said. "We have to answer 'no'." When Elizabethtown's score comes back from EFC in September, Reusser said, the committee will have a better gauge for where, who and how much to apply for in additional grant resources. "I'm hoping by this time next year, we will have a funding package and our engineers can create a build-out plan. The best possible outcome would to see shovels in the ground in 2027." Reusser said Elizabethtown's WWT Committee has worked hard to reach out to community, home and business owners, while at the same time talking with state partners at DEC, the Adirondack Park Agency, EFC and state and federal elected officials. "My job is to understand the tolerance of the taxpayers to afford this, including me," she said. "That's why I've been working hard with our government leaders. I participated in two APA forums in the past couple of weeks, keeping our project in the hearts and eyes of people who can help." Next steps would be toward final design, bidding and construction. "Design will start in earnest once grants start to be secured. The schedule for construction will be better known once the grants are known," the report says. The complete engineering report along with meeting notes and contact information is available online. The Wastewater Treatment Facility report can be downloaded: etownwastewater.wordpress.com

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Report: Elizabethtown needs wastewater treatment system

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