The Town of Batavia needs to treat more wastewater these days, and possibly into the future, so it must purchase additional capacity in the treatment plant on Treadeasy Avenue.
If plans are approved, the town will pay the city nearly $2 million for an additional 500,000 gallons of capacity.
The $2 million can be used by the city to repair and upgrade existing sewer lines or sewer-related infrastructure. Legally, it can't be used for anything else.
The treatment facility opened in 1990 with the intention that it serve both the town and the city. The total cost was $48 million, with $39 million being paid by state and federal grants. The city covered more than $8 million of the local share of the cost and the town more than $500,000.
For the price, the city obtained 3.5 million gallons per-day capacity and the town 350,000 gallons per day.
The town now occasionally exceeds its capacity, City Manager Jason Molino said, especially after two yogurt plants opened in the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.
Molino said the town also anticipates additional manufacturing growth, which means an even greater need for sewer capacity.
Residential growth, such as the new housing development on East Main Road, doesn't greatly increase the need for more capacity, Molino said.
The process of increasing capacity for the town will take up to 12 months, since the town is broken into sewer districts and there will need to be a series of public hearings before the town board can approve bonds to cover the $2 million expense.
The fee is based on a series of complex, and legally mandated, calculations that Public Works Director Sally Kuzon explained briefly for council members.
Previously: Batavia Wastewater Treatment Plant, one of city's hidden treasures
