State, Cheektowaga agree on Scajaquada plan

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Cheektowaga officials and the state have finally agreed on how the town will begin to address its sewer overflows. The problem is, it took seven years to end the dispute.

Investigative Post reported the state Department of Environmental Conservation last month had rejected the town’s sewer plan for the second time in five years. DEC officials said the town was not taking enough steps to reduce problems on private property, such as roof downspouts and sump pumps connected to the sewer system. These connections are prohibited by town ordinance because they can flood the sewer system with rain water and cause overflows.

Town officials have since relented and will look to the state for guidance.

Each year, the town spews almost a half-billion gallons of sewage mixed with stormwater into local waterways. Most of the town’s sewer overflows reach the badly polluted Scajaquada Creek.

The town has a 10-year deadline to significantly reduce its sewer overflows and DEC officials said they won’t budge on that timeline.