Map-plan proposes sewer district along Cayuga Lake shoreline; $33 million build could get up to $15 million in state grants

Consultants for a proposed shoreline sewer told the Cayuga County Legislature on May 20 they have prepared a map, plan and report for a partial county sewer district along the Cayuga Lake shoreline and will ask the legislature next month to form the district so the project can pursue state grant funding.

Tim Carpenter of MRV Group described the project as a low-pressure sewer system intended to protect lake water quality by routing wastewater from properties along the lakeshore to the Village of Aurora wastewater treatment plant, which would receive an upgrade as part of the scheme. The proposed district would not cover entire towns but the shoreline areas in the towns of Genoa and Ledyard down to the Tompkins County line.

Key figures and grant strategy

Carpenter estimated construction at about $33 million, noting a 25% contingency in the planning estimate; he said available grant funds in the current round could total as much as $15 million. He told legislators that forming a sewer district is a precondition for some state grants and that the map-plan-report itself does not obligate the county or residents to costs — the financial obligation would be established later and shared only among those properties that benefit.

Carpenter…