46 Search Results for sewer overflows

May 17

2017

Regulators at cross purposes at 18 Mile Creek

Published by

Eighteen Mile Creek in Niagara County is so polluted that the state Department of Health doesn’t want people to eat the fish caught there. It’s one of only six waterbodies in the state with such a warning. This hasn’t stopped another arm of the state, the Department of Environmental Conservation, from stocking the contaminated creek each year with an average of 160,000 of what are considered among the most desirable of fish: salmon and trout. As a result, a section along Eighteen Mile Creek in the Town of Newfane has become a fishing hotspot, part of the Lake Ontario watershed’s[...]

Posted 7 years ago

Sep 30

2016

A new low point for Buffalo’s Hoyt Lake

Published by

Most people familiar with water quality problems in Buffalo were not surprised Thursday night when city officials issued a warning that a “harmful blue-green algae bloom” surfaced in Hoyt Lake at Delaware Park. Instead, they were surprised that it took this long for one of these blooms to appear in Buffalo. “Unfortunately, it was only a matter of time until we started to see harmful algal blooms in Western New York’s waters,” said Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper Executive Director Jill Jedlicka. After all, Hoyt Lake and its neighbor Scajaquada Creek for decades have been cesspools of disease and fecal bacteria that[...]

Posted 7 years ago

Aug 4

2016

Untested waters at two Erie County beach bars

Published by

Authorities steered swimmers away from a Southtowns beach more than 30 days last summer because of unhealthy levels of bacteria in the water. But adjacent beaches owned by two popular waterfront bars remained open to patrons because the businesses lack permits that require testing of the water and closure when fecal matter and other bacteria are detected at dangerous levels. One of the bars, Turtle Joe’s Sand Bar, appears to be in violation of the state beach code. Whether Mickey Rats Beach Club is in violation is open to interpretation. Owner Richie Alberts obtained what he maintains is a waiver[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Mar 28

2016

Cut to U.S. clean water funds could hurt WNY

Published by

The House and Senate budget proposal includes a large cut in clean water funding that could threaten dozens of sewer repair projects in Western New York. Senator Charles Schumer visited Buffalo on Monday to urge Congress to reject the budget proposal to cut 30 percent, or $414 million, from the national Clean Water State Revolving Fund. States tap into this fund to offset the costs of sewer infrastructure improvements. Projects to stem overflows into the Buffalo River, Scajaquada Creek and other local waterways could be at risk, he said. “We can’t afford such a cut to the Clean Water Act, which[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Nov 2

2015

State, Cheektowaga agree on Scajaquada plan

Published by

Cheektowaga officials and the state have finally agreed on how the town will begin to address its sewer overflows. The problem is, it took seven years to end the dispute. Investigative Post reported the state Department of Environmental Conservation last month had rejected the town’s sewer plan for the second time in five years. DEC officials said the town was not taking enough steps to reduce problems on private property, such as roof downspouts and sump pumps connected to the sewer system. These connections are prohibited by town ordinance because they can flood the sewer system with rain water and cause[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Sep 28

2015

No action from state on Scajaquada

Published by

In July, Cheektowaga officials submitted to state regulators their $50 million workplan to address sewer overflows, which continue to pollute the Scajaquada Creek. More than two months later, the Department of Environmental Conservation still hasn’t responded to the town. This is déjà vu for Cheektowaga officials, who had their original plan rejected by the DEC in 2010. Time stood still for four years while the DEC failed to force the issue, until we reported on the deadlock in July 2014. On Monday, Senator Tim Kennedy joined town officials Monday to urge the DEC to expedite the review so that the[...]

Posted 9 years ago

Jul 16

2015

Water woes at Gallagher Beach

Published by

  Gallagher Beach has a serious bacteria problem. The bacteria counts at the unofficial beach on Buffalo’s Outer Harbor – which local, state and federal officials want to open for public swimming – exceeded safe levels more than two-thirds of the time in tests conducted last summer. The test results are included in a 181-page study Investigative Post recently obtained through a Freedom of Information Law request. The state has not officially released the report to the public. “The results are that this is not a safe place to swim,” said John Finster, a retired public health engineer who used[...]

Posted 9 years ago

Dec 11

2014

Scajaquada progress, at a price

Published by

Engineers have told Cheektowaga it’s going to cost up to $53 million to update the town’s aging sewer system, which spews hundreds of million of gallons of sewage mixed with stormwater into local waterways every year. A number of options are under consideration, including lining leaky sewer lines and building underground storage tanks to hold sewage until it can be treated. The work could take up to a decade to complete and might require financing that would be subject to a referendum. The town is also considering steps that would end illegal connections of downspouts, basement drains and sump pumps[...]

Posted 9 years ago