BY JIMMY LAWTONNorth Country This Week

OGDENSBURG — Ogdensburg’s wastewater and stormwater systems aren’t properly separated. That’s overburdening the city’s wastewater treatment center and leading sewage flooding into basements of some city residents.

That’s the takeaway of a presentation given Monday at a special meeting held by the city council, which did not allow for public comment.

In June several members of the public raised concerns about the problem with city resident Ann Loffler explaining that her basement was filled with untreated raw sewage following a rain event. Others discussed the expenses they had incurred due to costly cleanups.

Ogdensburg’s new City Manager Fonda Chronis said that problem isn’t wastewater, rather it’s stormwater that’s causing the problem.

A presentation made by engineers and city officials Monday explained that the problem would not be an easy or fast one to address, but rather would take time and investment.

Engineers from Development Authority of the North Country and Environmental Design & Research (EDR), Syracuse said separating the sewer and stormwater systems is the long term solution.

DANC Chief Operating Officer Carrie Tuttle said on average the city’s plant treats 3 million gallons a day and has a maximum capacity of 6.5 million gallons. But major flooding events like the one last month which led to sewage backing up into residential basements is too much for the facility to handle.

“The system is completely overwhelmed,” she said.  “There’s no place for that flow to go, and it's finding the path of least resistance.”

She said that in some cases that means people’s basements.

The long term solution would involve a multimillion dollar capital project that would separate the systems. That solution would likely not only solve the basement backups, but would also reduce long term costs for the city. That’s because currently the city is treating large amounts of stormwater that doesn’t need to be treated.

While such an investment would involve engineering, design, grants and money the city simply doesn’t have, some short-term ideas were also floated at the meeting.

Chronis told council that residents could see improvements from installing back-flow valves. That’s a solution the city has discussed in the past and is considering helping residents fund, though details have not yet been finalized.

The other short term factor would center on code enforcement and ensuring businesses and residents are properly tied into the city’s sewer system.

Chronis said the city would need to look for things like illegal tie-ins and complete inspections on commercial and apartment buildings to ensure regulations are being followed.

He also suggested code changes that could prevent the city from adding to the problem with new construction.

Tuttle and Chronis noted that the problem needed to be addressed as a marathon not a sprint.

Mayor Michael Tooley encouraged residents to watch the presentation which can be viewed here  and look at the materials put together by staff which can be found here.