FALCONER – The village of Falconer is looking at an $11.2 million project to update its sanitary sewer system.

Village board members heard a presentation this week from Steve Renaud, a project engineer with Square Engineering of Buffalo. The firm is contracted to conduct a sewer system study and issue recommendations to the board.

“From 2018 until 2024, your sewer system had an average daily flow rate of 1.5 MGD (millions of gallons per-day), the highest monthly average daily flow was in January 2018, with a flow rate of 2.6 MGD. The lowest monthly average daily flow rate was in July 2022, at 0.43 MGD and the expected average daily flow rate will be around 0.35 MGD,” Renaud said.

Renaud said that Square Engineering inspected 85% of the 360 manholes located within the village limits that are largely constructed of old brick. However, the covers were in good condition considering that they are made of brick. Renaud did note that deficiency with the manhole covers include low lying manholes, frame and wall deterioration, root intrusion, and active inflow at joints or pipe penetrations.

Additionally, Renaud said that upon inspecting the sewer main line, that it was made up of 78,000 linear feet of clay-gravity sewer main and that the clay piping was generally found to be deficient (minor cracking, roots, offset joints. However, piping that was made of PVC is assumed to be in good operating condition.

Furthermore, Renaud said when Square Engineering staff inspected the village’s pumping station that the pumps and motors were reaching the end of their useful lives.

“The station’s motor shafts require considerable maintenance now- and they pose a safety risk,” he said.

The following is a list of some of the recommendations Renaud presented to the Board of Trustees of what was needed to upgrade and fix the village’s aging system: rehabilitation of approximately 274 manholes; sealing of voids and leaking wall and bench joints; install cementitious lining of all brick manholes; 59,000 linear feet with cured in place piping; replace approximately 5,000 linear feet of open-cut replacement of the sewer main; replacement of the pump station with dry pit submersible (DPS) pumps; removal of pump station existing shaft and motors.

“The plant improvement without service area expansion is estimated to cost $11.2 million. That breaks down to an estimated cost of $528 per year, for a household,” Renaud said.

Falconer Mayor James Jaroszynski added that the village would need to look at grants from the state and federal governments to help with the cost of the total project. No further action was taken by village officials.