Planning begins for Ballston Spa sewer upgrade

PHOTOGRAPHER: Stephen Williams

The village is starting engineering work as a step toward making major improvements to its century-old sewer system, starting in 2013.

Clough Harbour & Associates of Colonie has been retained to start an in-depth evaluation of the system, Mayor John P. Romano said.

The sewer system for most of the village dates from about 1899, but in addition to the problems of age, officials believe the system is tied at many points into the village’s stormwater collection system. That results in stormwater being sent to the county sewage treatment plant in Halfmoon for treatment, raising the village’s sewage treatment bill.

But county officials also want to remove stormwater from their sewage collection system, since during extreme storms it taxes the capacity of the sewage treatment plant.

“The county sewer district wants us to make a more aggressive approach,” Romano said.

Starting in the near future, Clough Harbour will develop a baseline map of the existing sewage collection and storm drainage systems.

That will be followed over the next year by monitoring, testing and evaluating the systems, and development of a plan for repairs and improvements.

“Hopefully construction on this project would begin in 2013,” Romano said.

He said the cost of the engineering work and the overall improvement project isn’t yet known, but he expects it will be substantial.

The mayor also announced he will start taking applications to fill a village board of trustees vacancy created in the spring by the resignation of trustee Donna Thomas, who had moved outside the village.

Romano explained the delay by saying there were other pressing matters in the spring, and he didn’t want to take applications during the busy summer period.

He asked anyone interested to submit a written application to him at the village hall by Sept. 30.

Whoever is selected would be expected to run for the office in the March 2012 village elections. Village trustees earn $4,277 a year.