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Engineer warns of water-system vulnerabilities, urges Erie County Water Authority interconnections and emergency planning
Summary
Consultant Jerry Sensson told the Aurora Town Board that several parts of the town’s water supply are dead-ended or lack redundancy and recommended the board ask the Erie County Water Authority to restore or create interconnections, document meter pits, and integrate his findings into emergency plans.
An engineering review of Aurora’s water connections highlighted several single-source and dead-end sections, limited redundancy and an emergency valve that could be used to back-feed the village, and recommended immediate coordination with the Erie County Water Authority, AAR Design's Jerry Sensson told the Town Board.
Sensson, who said he visited field sites and reviewed water authority maps, described three service types across the area — direct service (where the water authority supplies and maintains the system), lease-managed service (authority supplies and maintains while the municipality funds capital), and bulk sales (municipality maintains the system). He said most of Aurora is supplied by the Erie County Water Authority but identified pockets the town maintains itself (Hickory Lane, South Heric Road, Mitchell Road), and several dead ends where a single failure could leave residents without water (Bame Road, parts of Stony Brook).
Sensson documented meter pits installed in 2021 at Bowen, Maple and Girdle connections and showed maps indicating an emergency interconnection at Maple Road (the so-called ‘‘black hydrant’’ valve), which is closed but could be opened in an emergency to provide low-pressure service. He said some potential interconnections that existed historically — at Lawrence Avenue and Porterville/Pine Street — are not present now or are not mapped, and he encouraged the board to ask the Erie County Water Authority to evaluate restoring them.
The presentation stressed the authority’s operational role: only the Erie County Water Authority can open and close the authority-owned valves needed to reconfigure flows during an outage; municipal officials should call the authority immediately in any emergency and follow the authority’s guidance. Sensson provided emergency contact numbers and suggested his report be included in the town’s emergency manager plan and posted with meeting materials.
Board members asked for the written report and a copy for emergency management personnel; Sensson said he would send the final version and that the water authority had seen a draft but not the final document. The board agreed the recommendations — more interconnections and clearer mapping of meter pits/valves — should be pursued with the Erie County Water Authority.
