The southern end of Lake George has tried to control spikes in E. coli bacteria, including one that closed a popular beach near that location in June. Photo by Kris Parker
Fees, corrections, and replacements would be required
By Zachary Matson
The Lake George Park Commission is in the process of establishing one of the most far-reaching sewage plant inspection programs in the state, covering at least 3,400 properties in the most sensitive areas of the lake basin.
A committee tasked with developing an inspection program has begun working on details that include an annual fee of $ 50 for a five-year inspection requirement. Officials are months away from passing the new ordinance that could serve as a model beyond Lake George.
Commissioner Ken Parker said during the parking meeting on Thursday: “I see a regulation going forward that will be accepted by all.”
He added: “The only person who will be bothered by this will be the one who says, ‘What septic system are you talking about?'”
The question remains whether the Commission will carry out inspections with internal staff or external contractors; exactly which properties fall under which regulatory standards; and how local governments and the parking commission would handle an expected surge in permit requests for the installation of replacement wastewater treatment plants.
“We’re taking the time to get it right,” said Dave Wick, executive director of the commission, in an interview on Friday. “We are trying to do the right thing to protect the lake and not place undue burden on the regulated public.”
The plan comes nearly 30 years after the commission dropped its original septic ordinance after a court challenge threw the rule on trial foul. Now, New York’s smallest government agency, the only one devoted to regulating a lake and its watershed, seems closer than ever to its legal mandate to regulate the discharge of wastewater into the park.
At their October meeting, the commissioners authorized staff to develop the details of a regulatory system and a committee began working on the details of the program on Thursday.
“I did not expect to be at this point so quickly,” said Commissioner Kathy LaBombard.
The committee members appeared to be banding around a program that charged septic tank owners an annual discharge fee of $ 50 per year according to early planning documents, and required a system inspection and pumpdown every five years. The fee would cover the cost of the inspection and the annual billing process would allow commission staff to provide annual septic training and keep track of system maintenance for the owners.
TIED TOGETHER: Another noxious algal bloom was spotted on Lake George in October
The final cost of a program – and the fee passed on to septic tank owners – could change as the Commission considers whether to hire staff to carry out inspections and how to carry out the technical reviews required for new systems.
“We’re just starting to cut the numbers, but that’s probably a fair ballpark,” Wick said of the $ 50 figure included in a “Septic Inspection Program Concepts” summary posted recently on the website published by the Commission. “We don’t know how smoothly an inspection program would actually run.”
The members of the committee, made up of a mix of park officials, external experts and representatives from state and local government, emphasized the importance of ensuring that inspections are carried out consistently across the park.
“For the sake of consistency, you should conduct (inspections) with the employees of the parking commission, this gives us a catchment-wide consistency that we would not otherwise achieve.”
– Walt Lender, senior vice president of the Lake George Association
Carol Collins, a water scientist who lives near the lake, said it would also be valuable for inspectors to gather other information about site conditions that could affect a system’s effectiveness.
“We need to look at everything that is going on on the job site, note the ground conditions and the slope … so we can start a really good monitoring program for the lake and have a better understanding of what is going on in this watershed,” said Collins .
Loraine Ruffing and Carol Collins are concerned about the water quality of Lake George. Photo by Mike Lynch
Homeowners would need to repair or replace failing or dysfunctional septic systems as part of a potential regulatory system. However, new systems would have to be approved by an engineer and worked on by planning offices in local governments. Wick plans to discuss the proposal with leaders of the eight cities, one village, and three counties that make up the park in the coming weeks. He will address the issue of how to deal with a potentially increasing number of residents who will need to replace wastewater treatment plants after an inspection program has been put in place.
Local cities have supported the parking commission’s development of septic tank regulations, and some have served as models, albeit on a smaller scale, to educate the parking commission staff in developing a catchment-wide program. A number of city administrations have passed resolutions in recent months calling on the parking commission to develop a septic tank regulation.
Queensbury Warden John Strough and Bolton Assistant Warden Susan Wilson suggested at Thursday’s meeting that local cities may be willing to contribute financially to a commission-run inspection program.
“We would support any endeavor and a great one as suggested,” said Strough. “And if we have to contribute financially, the cost is not overwhelming and it is such an important thing.”
Why the need
There are over 6,000 sewage treatment plants within the boundaries of Lake George Park, the primary waste disposal system on nearly 70 percent of the occupied parcels within the park. More than 3,400 waterfalls are located within 150 meters of the lake or 30 meters of a stream that feeds the lake.
While developing a potential inspection program, officials are focusing on the 3,400 lots in the “critical environmental area of the park,” but it is possible that all of the wastewater treatment plants in the park could fall under a new requirement, possibly lower requirements if they are outside the critical zone lie .
According to a current analysis by the parking commission, around 80 percent of the properties supplied by sewage treatment plants have at least one thing that could weaken their effectiveness. Limiting factors include steep slopes, flat bedrock, proximity to the lake shore and soils that are poorly suited for a septic system.
Also, many Lake George sewage treatment plants are decades old, and some property owners are unaware that they are on a sewage treatment plant rather than a municipal sewer.
“We try a lot to make people aware that this is a problem if their septic system is not working properly,” said Ginger Künzel, who lives near the lake and organizes at the grassroots level to promote stronger septics and rules Awareness. “You need to know what you have, how it works, and that it needs maintenance.”
Ultimately, she said, property owners will need a government push to make sure their sewage treatment plants are working properly.
“I think you can’t expect people to do it alone, there has to be regulation,” said Künzel.
RELATED: Lake George Park Commission convenes Septic Systems Committee
Lake George water maintainer Chris Navitsky said in a recent interview that aging and failing wastewater treatment plants could threaten the health of the lake and could potentially already be contributing to an overall downward trend in water quality.
“Lake George is clearly influenced by land use, and septic systems are part of it,” Navistky said, citing a surge in things like phosphorus and chlorophyll – a contribution that could contribute to a recent wave of harmful algal blooms that have developed on the lake.
In 2018, Navitsky worked with the City of Lake George to investigate septic conditions in over 400 lots and found that about two-thirds of the systems were out of date, exceeded their life expectancy, or had not been serviced. A separate study found that the lake’s conditions improved after a sewage system near the lake was replaced with a new one.
“We know that septic systems leach nutrients into the groundwater and reach the lake,” said Navitsky. “We believe there is sufficient supporting evidence to show that septic systems are having a negative impact on Lake George.”
Navitsky is a member of the committee working on the program specifications and at Thursday’s meeting called for a program that ensures timely maintenance and pumping of sewage treatment plants in the lake basin. He said property owners should understand that sewage treatment plants are the most important “device” in their home.
“You’re a utility company, you run a sewage treatment plant, you treat wastewater, much like maintaining your car, you must have a similar mindset,” Navitsky said in a recent interview. “Lake George is a unique and special place, providing drinking water to thousands, so it deserves a little more responsibility and a little more safeguarding to protect people’s investments in their property and maintain public health.”
A possible blueprint
Wastewater treatment plants scattered around Adirondack Park – near myriad lakes, ponds, streams, and rivers – could pose a much greater threat to water quality and public health. And proponents with an Adirondack-wide interest in water issues hope that a new Lake George septic tank program could educate programs related to the Adirondacks.
“I am very pleased with the progress we are making, the overall nature (of the plans),” said David Miller, an Adirondack Council water quality specialist who has been a public member of Lake George. “The blueprint (the commission) that I hope will develop is one that other counties and cities beyond Lake George could look at.”
Navitsky agreed that the need for septic systems programs could be extended to every corner of Adirondack Park – even if Lake George’s governance structure is unique in the state.
“Whether Lake George, the Saranac Lakes or the Cranberry Lake, all of these are special places for people and they all have the same characteristics,” said Navitsky.
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