There have been a number of recent Speakouts, articles and letters misstating the City of Plattsburgh Water Pollution Control Plant's ability to handle additional flow from the Town of Plattsburgh and possible effects on the beaches during wet-weather storm events.

Here are some facts:

  The city and town have partnered in a 33-year agreement that provides the town with a cost-effective rate for present and future wastewater needs and secures revenue for the city during times of a declining rate base.

  There is negligible impact to the city plant by the recent addition of Champlain Park flow or the proposed Cumberland Head flow. The plant is ready, willing and able to treat additional flow from the town.

  The city plant does not overflow or discharge untreated wastewater during wet weather. In fact, it is designed to treat and disinfect large amounts of wet-weather flow. It does so effectively.

  Although the city plant has been operating for 36 years, it is still reliable and efficient and has many years of service remaining. Contrary to some reports, beach closures have not been related to the City plant.

Some of the confusion seems to be about overflows. Most of the city has separate sanitary and storm sewers. The sanitary sewers convey sanitary flow (wastewater) to the city Water Pollution Control Plant for treatment. Storm sewers collect rain water and snow melt and discharge it, untreated, directly to the Saranac River or Lake Champlain.

Similar to most older U.S. cities, some portions of the City of Plattsburgh have a combined sewer system, which means there is only one pipe for the collection of sanitary and storm flow. These one-pipe systems convey sanitary flow during dry weather and combined sanitary and storm flow during wet weather to the city plant for treatment and seasonal disinfection.

During intense storms, however, the system can't convey all of the combined flow. To prevent backups into basements and buildings, overflows are designed into the system to allow the excess flow to discharge to the river and/or lake. These are called combined sewer overflows (CSOs). The city has 11 CSOs permitted by DEC. They are monitored on a routine basis, especially during wet weather.

The city recently completed a $500,000 Comprehensive Monitoring and Modeling Plan (CMMP) of the sewer collection system to evaluate the frequency and volume of the CSO discharges during different rain events and how they might affect the river and lake. The evaluation found that the city's combined system collects, conveys and treats 98 percent of the combined flow during wet-weather events, far in excess of the EPA requirement of 85 percent. Despite exceeding this requirement, the city plans a number of sewer improvements to reduce the frequency and volume of the CSO discharges and to ensure the excess flow is properly conveyed in an enclosed piping system to the discharge points.

In closing, the city wastewater treatment plant does not overflow during wet weather; it effectively treats combined sanitary and storm flow. Excess flow that does not reach the plant is discharged to the river in accordance with DEC and EPA requirements. The plant has much capacity for treating additional flow from the town and other sources.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 536-7519 or at ruffj@cityofplattsburgh-ny.gov.

Jonathan P. Ruff, PE, is the City of Plattsburgh environmental manager.