Crescent Avenue Pumping Station, Other System Improvements Lower Costs, Benefit Environment

ERIE COUNTY, NY— Erie County (“the County”) and the Village of Hamburg (“the Village”) have announced the completion of the Crescent Avenue Pumping Station, eliminating the last sanitary sewer overflow in the Village portion of Erie County Sewer District (“ECSD”) No. 3. The completion of the Station is the latest initiative implemented to address sewer issues in the Village since ECSD No. 3  assumed ownership, operation, and maintenance of the Village’s sanitary sewer system following a merger in 2005. At that time, there were four sanitary sewer overflows in the Village’s system and the Village was under an Order on Consent with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Over the past seven years, cooperative efforts involving the County and Village have resulted in several positive outcomes addressing sewer issues. In 2005, 1,400 lineal feet of sanitary sewer pipe lining along Boston State Road/ East Main Street was addressed using trenchless rehabilitation methods; in 2006, the Pleasant Avenue overflow weir structure was eliminated; in 2007, approximately 12,900 lineal feet of sewer rehabilitation/replacement was incorporated in the New York State Department of Transportation’s reconstruction of U.S. Route 62, along with the elimination of the connection to the Woodview Avenue overflow. In 2009, another 12,667 lineal feet of sanitary sewer was rehabilitated or replaced, including upgrades in the vicinity of Browning Drive that eliminated the overflow in that area, while most recently the Hillview pumping station and its associated overflow were eliminated with the new Crescent Avenue Pumping Station. Numerous other improvements were completed by the County during the course of its operation and maintenance services. As a result of these efforts, there was not a single sanitary sewer overflow in the Village in 2012 or 2013. The total cost for the construction of these projects amounted to $3.9 million.

“Partnerships between municipalities are an effective and efficient way to provide services that residents demand while performing necessary upgrades to aging infrastructure,” said Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz. “These improvements have resulted in a better system, with savings for ratepayers, elimination of duplicative services, and a greener economy. They will also help greatly in protecting nearby 18 Mile Creek. As I said in my “Initiatives for a Smart Economy” address, our water resources are a vital part of our economy and need to be preserved and restored. The elimination of all four overflows is a tremendous step in the right direction, and I would like to thank our partners in Village government and ECSD No. 3 for their help in getting this done.”

“This sewer project is an excellent example of intergovernmental cooperation. Erie County and ECSD No. 3 have been great to work with,” said Village of Hamburg Mayor Thomas J. Moses, Sr. “The projects have helped eliminate sanitary sewer overflows and have improved the access to 18 Mile Creek in the Village, resulting in a definite benefit for the residents. By eliminating overflows into 18 Mile Creek from the Village and removing a pump station from the creek bank these projects are not only helping the environment, they are also helping the Village to attain one of the strategies in our Comprehensive Plan- which is to increase access and recreational opportunities along 18 Mile Creek for residents and visitors so that we can all enjoy the natural resource that flows through our community.”

ECSD No.3 Chairman and Erie County legislature Minority Leader John Mills added, “This is a good example of local government working with county government to share costs and make a safer environment for the residents of the Village of Hamburg.”

Additional work scheduled to be completed this year includes a pumping station elimination project to address three aging facilities and replace them with gravity sewers. This project, made possible through the consolidation of services, is called the “Charlotte/Sherburn/McKinley Pumping Station Eliminations” and was bid in June 2012 at a cost of $958,598. As with all the work completed since the merger in 2005, ratepayers will see benefits in reduced costs as a single entity is responsible for the infrastructure, lowering future operation, maintenance, and capital expenses.