The waste water storage facility being built in Armory Square is on track to be up and running by early 2014. Work on the Clinton Combined Sewer Overflow, or CSO, began in 2011 on the former trolley lot between the elevated railroad and Onondaga creek. GHD Consulting is the design engineer for the facility.
The Clinton CSO was featured in a presentation at the New York Water Environment Association’s conference, which wraps up Wednesday at the University Sheraton hotel. Tom Rhodes, Commissioner for the Water Environment Protection Department, explained that, while the project will be coming in over budget, it should provide a big boost to the environmental quality of Onondaga County water ways:
The Clinton CSO involves a six million gallon storage tank constructed underground, which frees up the aboveground space for use as a parking facility, building, or even a future facility expansion on top of the existing system. The project was held up as an example of the unique way the community is handling sewage and storm water during heavy rain events that can overwhelm storm sewers and send untreated raw sewage into Onondaga Creek and Onondaga Lake. It also highlights the new capabilities at the Metropolitan (Metro) Waste Treatment Plant, which has some of the best water treatment technology in the country.