On June 20 the Walworth Town Board authorized their Supervisor, Susie Jacobs, to sign a Memorandum of Understanding to begin exploring the option of joining the Wayne County Water and Sewer Authority’s Western Regional Wastewater Treatment System improvements project. 

This project is to regionalize and consolidate the wastewater treatment plants of Palmyra, Macedon, and Marion, and has been moving forward since 2017. With aging plants, the Towns involved realized that a consolidation would be in their best interest, and are well into the planning stages. 

The Walworth Waste Water Treatment Plant is not failing in any way, according to Sewer Superintendent Robert Burns, and he says that his crew work diligently to ensure the quality and effectiveness of their plant.

The needs of local businesses such as Richardson Foods, the disposal costs for sewage sludge, and the ever-changing demands of the DEC are some of the reasons  the Town Board are exploring all  options. 

Supervisor Jacobs, when asked for comment, said, “The Town of Walworth and its Board are doing our due diligence to research all of our options at this time.” Jacobs continued, “...modifications needed to the plant and overall finances will be looked into before a decision is made.”

Walworth’s Water Treatment Plant received a required improvement directive from the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) this year which would bring their scheduled improvement costs from around $3 million to almost $7 million, as assessed by Hunt Engineering. However, the current estimated cost for Walworth to enter the improvement project is around $15 million.

Marty Aman, Executive Director of the Wayne County Water and Sewer Authority, was initially surprised by the Walworth Board’s interest. From his experience, in the past, the Town of Walworth has been relatively independent and the initial cost difference seems like a no brainer. 

However, Mr. Aman says, “From a long range look, and the number of unknowns, I can see why they [Walworth Town Board] are making this move. The only thing the Board has committed to at this time is the costs to evaluate the option of joining the project.” Aman made further clarification explaining that the initial cost is not set, and once the details are known the numbers will come out for the public. This is likely to happen in the next couple of weeks.

By Amber Linson