Proposed Owasco sewer district could improve lake water quality

OWASCO | A proposed third sewer district would improve Owasco Lake water quality by transitioning homeowners from septic to a sewer system, said Town of Owasco Supervisor Ed Wagner.

A third sewer district is proposed from south of Burtis Point to Koenig Point and would affect approximately 200 residents, several across the border in Niles.

Property owners in this area currently operate on-site subsurface wastewater treatment systems, or septic systems.

This technology, Wagner said, is limited.

"Septic is useful for solid waste," he said, but becomes problematic when it comes to liquids.

Septic infrastructure is typically complemented by a leaching system of holding tanks, dry wells or leach fields.

"Some are just not built to today's standards," Wagner said.

The supervisor estimates septic replacement costs to reach $15,000, or more if an aerobic digester is needed.

Periodic septic system monitoring by the Cayuga County Department of Health investigate complaints of septic failures. Liquid waste, which is not unlike cow manure, runs the risk of eventually finding its way into the lake, a drinking water source for as many as 50,000 people, Wagner said.

"Liquids leach out to ground water," he said. "Kind of like what we're complaining about with cows (manure) in the watershed.

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Proposed Owasco sewer district could improve lake water quality