Sewer separation: Rockland-Parkway area

Construction worker in trench on Rockland Street (Jul 2007)

Quick reference
— Work underway (June 2008)
— Background
— Agencies involved

Sewer separation for CSO basin 050—the Rockland Avenue-Parkway Drive area of Syracuse—involved installation of 4200 feet of new sewer pipeline. Construction began on July 9, 2007 at the intersection of Rockland and Hunt. The project is scheduled to be completed, including restoration of the streets, in the spring of 2008 at an estimated cost of $3.2 million.

In the first part of the project, new sanitary sewer pipes were placed in Rockland Avenue, a short segment of South Avenue, and Parkway Drive. The existing combined-sewer pipe was converted to carry only stormwater to Onondaga Creek.

New sanitary sewers were also installed on Shelbourne Place. New sanitary and storm sewer lines were installed on Bellaire Place. In addition, new storm sewers were installed on Temple Place and a portion of East Bissell Street.

As this work was completed, Onondaga County also:

Replaced sewer laterals from the street to the curb line
Repaired the existing sewers as needed
Repaired and restored streets and curbs that were disturbed (to be completed)
Replaced active lead or galvanized water services, if exposed, from the City's valve to the curb with copper pipe. (Homeowners remained responsible for the water line from the curb into the house.)

Work underway (June 2008)

Construction to be concluded:

Relining a portion of the combined line under a portion of Bissell and Temple will be done this summer.
The streets will be fully restored.

The CSO has been converted to stormwater only and no longer discharges combined sewage and stormwater into Onondaga Creek.

Background

Onondaga County has installed new sewers in this area to help improve the water quality of Onondaga Creek and Onondaga Lake. Some areas of Syracuse have sewers that carry both sanitary sewage—from homes and businesses—and also stormwater from the streets. During dry weather these sewers carry all the sanitary sewage to the Metropolitan Syracuse Wastewater Treatment Plant for treatment.

During times of heavy rain or melting snow, however, the amount of water is far greater than the capacity of the sewers. At these times, the sewers overflow and discharge the excess—a combination of runoff and sanitary sewage—into Onondaga Creek and Harbor Brook. These discharges eventually reach Onondaga Lake. This is combined sewer overflow (CSO). The sewer system was designed to overflow in this way to prevent sewage from backing up into streets and basements.

CSOs create human health risks because they add bacteria, floating trash, organic material, heavy solids, and grit to city streams and Onondaga Lake. Material from CSOs collects on vegetation along and in streams. It looks bad and smells bad, and it can also transmit disease to humans who may come in contract with the water. Material from CSOs also depletes the dissolved oxygen in the water that is necessary for aquatic life.

By implementing this project, Onondaga County will meet or exceed federal and state water quality requirements, reduce human health risks associated with the discharge of untreated sewage to Onondaga Creek and Onondaga Lake, and eliminate odors caused by discharging overflows. The County will also make improvements to the area affected by construction of the abatement work.

Where has the work taken place?

The County has separated the combined sewers in the following streets:

Parkway Drive (100-300 blocks)
South Avenue (parts of 1300-1400 blocks)
Rockland Avenue (100 and 200 blocks)
East Bissell Street
Shelbourne Place
Bellaire Place
Temple Place

Sewers were separated in the tan-shaded area (center of map).

Sewers were separated in the tan-shaded area (center of map).

Agencies involved

This sewer separation work was performed by the Onondaga County Department of Water Environment Protection (WEP). WEP coordinated its efforts with the City of Syracuse to make sure that the sewers, water services, roads, and curbs were property restored for the benefit of the neighborhood's residents.

O'Brien & Gere Engineers designed the sewer separation project under contract to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Army Corps is providing some funding to Onondaga County for the work. J. J. Lane was the contractor for the work.

The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) approved the plans and specifications for the sewer separation work. This sewer separation project is one of over thirty projects that Onondaga County has undertaken as part of the Amended Consent Judgment that the County signed in 1998 along with NYSDEC, the New York State Attorney General, and the Atlantic States Legal Foundation aimed at improving the water quality of Onondaga Lake.