The Village of Lansing Sanitary Sewer Collector system conveys sewage to be treated at the VCHWWTP (Village of Cayuga Heights Waste Water Treatment Plant) as part of an intermunicipal agreement. This agreement allows the Village of Lansing to reduce its operating expense by eliminating the need for a treatment facility and all the costs associated to owning one.
It was recently brought to our attention the Railroad bed sanitary sewer flow monitoring system is reading double its normal flow for this time of the season. The railroad bed collection system services all of the Village of Lansing north of Route 13 and into the Town of Lansing. This is most likely caused by a variety of issues including connections of basement perimeter drains, sump pump drains, and in some cases driveways drains. In the past these inflows may have been permitted, but in today’s standards are considered illegal connections. See figure below for typical illegal connections
According to the EPA, “private laterals make up about half of the total length of a sewer system. Even when the system-wide impact of infiltration is not an issue, defective laterals can cause sewer backups, and can be an important issue of concern in public works agencies.” Additional clean water or inflow to the system can be detrimental in the treatment of everyday sewage by increasing operating expenses or exceeding the allowed NYSDEC operating permit.
We are working diligently to repair known issues to the Village’s collection system. This year you may encounter crews working on sanitary sewer mains and manholes Village wide.
We are currently working on a mechanism to assist homeowners to find and isolate inflow and infiltration into private sanitary service laterals. If you know of connections that may be questionable whether draining to storm or sanitary sewer, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Regards,
John Courtney
Superintendent of Public works
