SYRACUSE  — The New York Water Environment Association (NYWEA) honored the Oneida County Department of Water Quality and Water Pollution Control with the Municipal Achievement Award at the awards ceremony during NYWEA’s 95th annual meeting. 

The award is given annually to recognize municipalities that have made a major commitment to effective management by instituting programs to protect and enhance environmental conditions, particularly of the water resource, by the provision for and proper operation and maintenance of needed facilities, and by providing for program oversight, by professional management and by financial support.

“Oneida County is honored to receive this prestigious award from the New York Water Environment Association,” said Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente Jr. “Improving the quality and treatment of our water in an efficient and environmentally-safe manner has been a priority of my administration and has been crucial to the growth and development of our region. I thank NYWEA for recognizing the dedicated and innovative efforts put forth by our Department of Water Quality and Water Pollution Control.”

The Oneida County Department of Water Quality and Water Pollution Control is responsible for the operation and maintenance of 45 miles of interceptor sewers, the Sauquoit Creek Pump Station (SCPS), and the Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP). The WPCP is a regional facility that treats wastewater from the City of Utica, 14 towns and villages and the Oneida County Business Park. The population served by the county is over 100,000 and the service area is approximately 170 square miles. Wastewater from the City of Utica is combined sewage, while the sewer systems outside the city are separate sanitary sewers. 

In 2011, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) entered into a consent order due to sanitary sewer overflow at the SCPS. As a result of the consent order, the County is required to double the capacity of the WPCP from 55 million gallons per day (MGD) to 111 MGD. Over the past 10 years, the county has embarked on a $300 million program to expand and upgrade the WPCP, rehabilitate the collection system to mitigate wet weather inflow and infiltration, and perform community outreach initiatives to educate system users on the benefits of plant upgrades and disconnecting storm water sources from the system.

Since 2011, 16 contracts have been completed within the member communities at a cost of over $25 million. The county took the lead on coordinating the efforts to identify wet weather inflow and infiltration and assisted the municipalities in obtaining grant funding for the sewer rehabilitation projects.

To date, the capacity of the plant has doubled, allowing for flows previously discharged as a combined or sanitary sewer overflow to be captured and treated. The upgrades include a “split flow” treatment system, which allows for combined flow from the City of Utica to be treated in parallel with sanitary flow from the remainder of the county. The notable decrease in sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) volume is evidence of the county’s commitment to the success of the program and overall improvement of water quality in the Mohawk Valley. 

In 2020 and 2021, after the enhanced facilities were placed into service, the annual SSO volume has decreased nearly 90%. The WPCP is fast becoming a regional water resource recovery facility, with the ability to accept organic food waste from the neighboring Solid Waste Authority for codigestion at the WPCP. An emphasis has been placed on sustainability, with the construction of combined heat and power facilities that convert digester gas to energy. Even as the flow capacity has doubled, the county anticipates a 75% reduction in energy costs at project completion. 

Public education and community outreach are important components of the county’s ongoing program. The county has developed the “Operation Ripple Effect” initiative to educate the community on the importance of disconnecting stormwater sources as it relates to reducing overflows to the Mohawk River. The website, rippleeffectocsd.org, provides educational materials in video and graphic form. Public outreach has also included media engagement with local news outlets running stories that increase project awareness, support and participation. Workshops have been held at community centers and schools covering topics such as installing rain barrels and disconnecting sump pumps.