Work starts on sanitary-sewer project in the town of Oswego

OSWEGO, N.Y. — Construction work is underway on a $4.8 million sanitary-sewer project in the town of Oswego.. 

The effort is part of the state’s Lake Ontario Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative (REDI), the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Aug. 30. 

Once complete, the project will establish a municipal sewer-collection system for the residents and businesses situated along portions of County Route 89, State Route 104, and Fred Haynes Boulevard — adjacent to Lake Ontario and SUNY Oswego. 

The new system will serve about 176 users, including an estimated 140 homes, and seven businesses with sewers along Fred Haynes Boulevard for future commercial development. 

“This is the largest infrastructure project the town has undertaken, and the benefits of the project are far reaching for future commercial development along the Fred Haynes Corridor and for town residents,” Oswego Town Supervisor Daniel Gurney said in a New York State news release. “This process has been an excellent example of the feats we can accomplish when state and local government work together.”

The project’s resiliency measures will include about 33,000 linear feet of mainline pipe and lateral connections to establishments, as well as the installation of two primary pumping stations to transmit wastewater to the City of Oswego. 

The New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation is administering the $4.8 million grant for the project.

High lake levels and inadequate subsurface conditions have significantly affected onsite private treatment systems, especially for many local businesses. Affected business owners have had to install holding tanks and/or complex onsite treatment systems “thus hindering sustainability and future development,” Hochul’s office said. 

“This transformative sewer-collection system project will benefit hundreds of users including homes and businesses in the Lake Ontario shoreline community,” Assembly Minority Leader William Barclay (R–Pulaski) said in the release. “I am thrilled to share my support for this infrastructure initiative, which will contribute to a cleaner, more sustainable environment and cultivate future economic development opportunities for the region. The REDI fund remains a welcome investment in our community as these projects provide significant upgrades and improvements to the coastline area.”