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Cortland approves emergency contract for smoke testing to find stormwater leaks into sewer system
Summary
The city approved an emergency ordinance authorizing a contract with Kane's Sanitary Service to smoke-test portions of the sanitary sewer to locate stormwater infiltration and inflow (I&I). The service director said the testing is the first step to identifying homeowner connections that are overloading sanitary lines and increasing city costs.
Cortland City Council on a unanimous emergency vote authorized the mayor to sign a contract with Kane's Sanitary Service to perform smoke testing on portions of the city's sanitary sewer system.
Sean, interim service director, told the council the city has a longstanding problem with infiltration and inflow, commonly called I&I, and the smoke testing will identify where stormwater is entering the sanitary system. "This would be the first step in identifying where we have I and I, where the stormwater is coming into our sanitary system," Sean said. He described the testing as targeted to neighborhoods north of the trail and said the work is urgent to address before fall.
The council approved ordinance O-38-25 as an emergency to allow the city to select a contractor and schedule testing without waiting additional meetings. The service director said staff solicited three quotes; one was nonresponsive and the recommended bidder was selected from the responsive proposals.
Why it matters: Council and staff said the city is paying for excess stormwater entering its sanitary system. Sean said the additional flow has raised the city's costs under an agreement with the county and that reducing I&I could produce financial offsets for the city. "This is costing the city, like, literally tens of thousands — hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of our agreement with the county," he said.
What residents should expect: Sean said the city will notify residents in affected neighborhoods by e-news, social media and door hangers, and that contractor crews will do door-to-door notices the day of testing. He said the contractor will handle testing and the city is hiring an outside firm to shift liability to that contractor and use their experience.
Potential outcomes and limits of local authority: The service director explained that findings may identify individual houses where gutters or yard drains discharge into the sanitary sewer. That practice was common when many houses were built in the 1960s–1980s. He said homeowners could be required to reroute gutters to storm sewer or otherwise correct the connection, or the city could pursue other compliance or assistance approaches used in other communities, including grant assistance. Sean said the city does not yet know how many homes are affected or the total cost to remedy individual properties.
Council discussion and next steps: Council discussed timing and the need to act before fall storms. Staff said they hope to have the contractor mobilize within about 30 days and will begin notification when the schedule is set. The ordinance directs the mayor to execute the contract; staff will report findings to council when testing is complete.
The council recessed from this item and moved on after roll call on the ordinance vote.
Ending: The testing program establishes a data-driven first step: identify I&I sources, then return to council with options for remediation, potential costs, and any recommended assistance or enforcement approaches.
