Town agrees to divert sewage

The town of Watertown will heed the city's demands to divert all of its sewage flows from Route 3 into a main beneath Route 12F by the end of this year.

The City Council met Monday night with representatives from the town of Watertown, including Supervisor Joel R. Bartlett, to discuss infrastructure issues that have surfaced within the last year.

In June, the city told the town it would not accept additional sewage along Route 3/Arsenal Street because development in the town is overburdening portions of the main inside the city's limits. The town is negotiating an easement with Pyramid Cos., Syracuse, to install a sewage main beneath a Salmon Run Mall access road so it can hook to a main beneath Coffeen Street.

The move by the city essentially has shut off any future development along Route 3 in the town and at the mall until that sewage is redirected.

"We'll divert all of those flows and we'll be bypassing Arsenal in its entirety," Mr. Bartlett said. "It's going to be turned off and redirected."

The supervisor said construction on that diversion main could begin this summer and be completed by the end of the year. The diversion project is expected to cost about $1.4 million, with all of that cost being charged to the properties in Sewer District 2as a capital cost associated with being in the district.

"Obviously we're not going to acquiesce to the big box stores and the rest of the users outside the city when it hinders development inside the city," Mayor Jeffrey E. Graham said. "It goes to the fact that every municipality needs infrastructure before development can occur."

Mr. Bartlett also requested that the city support the town's proposal to take over the operation of the Lettiere tract water district. The town, however, will not move ahead with the proposal unless the city guarantees it will sell water to the new water district.

The town is looking for grant funding to help it form a water district for the 104 users in the tract. The district's current operator, Southside Water Inc., Clayton, purchases water from the city and is the district's operator.

In January, the district's owner, James V. Lettiere Jr., submitted a request with the state Public Service Commission that he be allowed to increase usage rates by 90 percent.

Mr. Bartlett said the average annual household bill is about $1,350. If the town can secure grant funding, the municipality can operate the district for the same cost, if not less.

Residents are holding a petition drive that will be submitted to the town, the city and agencies that could provide grant funding.

"Under the current rate structure the city charges to the other town water districts, it appears there's a slight decrease in revenue," Mr. Graham said.

"If we don't have any assurances from the city to supply the district, then the issue dies and the residents in that area are going to be prone to any rate increase above and beyond what the town is allowed," Mr. Bartlett said.