Cheektowaga officials are moving forward after last month’s clash with state regulators over how to fix the town’s sewer overflow problems. 

The Town Council will propose a law that would require home inspections to check for prohibited connections to the sanitary sewer system from downspouts and sump pumps, said Councilman Timothy Meyers. The inspection would be required when a home is sold.

Downspouts and sump pumps illegally connected to the town’s sewer system are a big reason why the town leads the state in the number of reported incidents of sanitary sewer overflows. These illegal connections send rainwater into a sewer system that’s not designed to handle it. 

In fact, the state Department of Environmental Conservation wrote in its September 29 letter rejecting the town’s engineering plan that reducing the amount of rainwater that is penetrating its sewer system by 50 percent “would virtually eliminate Cheektowaga’s sanitary sewer overflows.” 

That’s quite the statement considering that the town was about to spend millions on relief sewers, which the state points out may not be necessary. 

A public hearing for the proposed law is expected in the next few weeks, Meyers said. 

That’s good news for local waterways. The town spews almost a half-billion gallons of sewage mixed with stormwater into creeks and rivers each year, most of which reach the badly polluted Scajaquada Creek. 

In addition, the DEC is requiring the town to present a series of public events to educate residents about how to check if their downspouts and sump pumps are not connected to the sewer system. The first event was Tuesday night at Cleveland Hill Fire Department.

 UPCOMING EVENTS 

• A happy hour panel discussion that seeks to answer the question: “Is Buffalo really getting its mojo back?” Tuesday, December 1 at 7pm at Allen Street Hardware, 245 Allen Street. Participants include Newell Nussbaumer, founder and editorial director of Buffalo Rising; Henry L. Taylor, a professor and founding director of the Center for Urban Studies at the University at Buffalo.

Admission is $10—free to Investigative Post members who have purchased a silver, gold or platinum package—and includes free drink.

Visit InvestigativePost.org/events for details and to purchase tickets.

Investigative Post is a nonprofit investigative reporting center focused on issues of importance to Buffalo and Western New York. Its partners include The Public, WGRZ TV 2 On Yor Side, WBFO 88.7 FM, and The Capital Pressroom.