“We’re better together” might be a cliché,
but regarding wastewater treatment in Fulton County, it rings entirely true. The county government is making it happen with a $30 million sewer expansion project that will open up growth opportunities for the county’s existing businesses as well as infrastructure for new businesses to move into the area.
The county’s engineering consulting firm, The Environmental Design Partnership, LLP, examined various options in 2021 and in partnership with Fulton County, determined the current expansion and consolidation plan to be the best to serve county residents, businesses, and those looking to relocate to the county.
Several entities within the county are facing significant expenditures or the lack of ability to expand because of their current wastewater treatment systems.
The Village of Mayfield has its own wastewater treatment plant that will require improvements at a cost of $3 to $5 million over the next six years, which would increase costs to users.
The Sunset Bay Vacation Resort in Mayfield with a recreational vehicle (RV) park and marina maintains its own wastewater treatment facility at present. However, a planned major expansion in response to consumer demand for RV parks and increased tourism to the area would require extensive and costly work on that privately owned treatment plant.
Also in Mayfield, Lanzi’s on the Lake Restaurant & Marina wants to create a larger venue with additional hospitality services, but its location with the Adirondack Park dictates that project would need to be on a municipal sewer system.
“Lanzi’s is on hold waiting for something to happen,” said Scott Henze, Director of Planning Tourism for Fulton County.”
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) Northampton Beach Campground lacks its own wastewater treatment facility. Instead, the campground collects wastewater in a series of holding tanks that are pumped weekly during the summer season. In addition, without increased capacity to handle wastewater, the DEC has been unable to add additional campsites with full hookups for RVs, something that is in demand these days.
The Town of Northampton uses a 19th-century wastewater treatment facility built by the FJ&G Railroad in the late 1800s. The aging treatment plant, which services about 90 customers, needs $5 to $6 million in improvements. As it stands now, there is no way to expand the facility within DEC guidelines. “I’m excited because it’s going to replace my sewer plant that is very, very old,” said Jim Groff, Supervisor of the Town of Northampton. Finding the funding for a plant that serves so few customers would have been a challenge, but it will be solved by Fulton County’s sewer expansion project.
The Village of Northville wants to have municipal sewer in its core business area, replacing the individual septic systems that today’s businesses must use. With no vacant lots available, business owners who want to expand have been unable to do so because on-site septic systems get in the way. “By hooking into the county’s sewer, they could remove the septic systems and have those areas for expansion,” Henze said.
In addition, the Northville Central School has its own large septic system that is likely to need replacement in a decade or so at a significant cost.
“This is an economic development initiative in that the county is providing municipal sewer systems along this tourism corridor to hopefully spur some growth related to various tourism businesses,” Henze said. “It’s also an initiative of consolidation of services and sharing of services and the protection of the county’s greatest asset of tourism which is the Great Sacandaga Lake.”
Fulton County’s extension of its sewer system will alleviate all these issues while protecting the Great Sacandaga Lake and helping the Gloversville-Johnstown Joint Wastewater Treatment Facility (GJJWTF) to operate closer to capacity. Everybody wins.
Within five to seven years, the county plans on completing this massive infrastructure project involving the installation of 15 miles of sewer line along Route 30 from Gloversville to the Village of Northville. This immense undertaking and investment in the county will allow several municipalities, state government facilities and private enterprises to switch to a municipal system rather than maintaining their own aging wastewater treatment facilities or collecting and trucking wastewater elsewhere. This consolidation and sharing of services will facilitate business expansion as well as encourage new businesses to move in along this heavily trafficked Route 30/Route 30A corridor.
Protecting the Great Sacandaga Lake is the sustainability aspect of the project. Presently, treated wastewater from the Village of Mayfield’s, the Town of Northampton’s and the Sunset Bay Vacation Resort’s wastewater treatment facilities all flow into the area’s greatest natural resource and tourist asset, the Great Sacandaga Lake. Fulton County’s regional approach to wastewater treatment would protect this great resource.
The wastewater from the sewer extension would flow to the GJJWTF, a state-of-the art wastewater treatment plant that is the first and only wastewater treatment plant in the United States that produces 100 percent of its own electrical power needs and sells power to the grid. The plant has a design capacity of 13.8 million gallons a day of combined commercial and residential wastewater, but it does not currently operate at capacity.
The county expects to begin construction for Phase I of the project by the first quarter of 2024. This will involve installing the sewer infrastructure to include sewer mains as well as the installation of a wastewater pump system at the location of the Village of Mayfield’s wastewater treatment plant which will be taken offline once the new system is in operation.
Fulton County dedicated $8.5 million of the $10.5 million of funds it received through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to carry out Phase I of the project. Through a capital plan and grant money, the county plans to continue with additional phases until the entire project is complete, opening up myriad opportunities for new economic development.
No matter what the reason…
Fulton County has a beauty all its own. making it your ideal destination to call home.
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