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Sep 4

2014

Progress on Scajaquada Creek pollution

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After years of inaction, local and state officials are acting to stem the flow of sewage overflows into the badly polluted Scajaquada Creek. Following a series of stories by Investigative Post last month that aired on WGRZ and published in Artvoice: The Buffalo Sewer Authority, which treats Cheektowaga’s sewage, proposed several options to reduce the flow of untreated sewage into the creek after heavy and moderate rains. The most promising option could cut the volume of overflows by about half, according to town Supervisor Mary Holtz. Town of Cheektowaga has retained an engineering firm to develop a new blueprint to[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Aug 13

2014

Scajaquada Jack revisited

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About that five feet of sewer sludge in sections of Scajaquada Creek. Yeah, I know, it’s gross, but I did find someone who has walked in it.  However, the details didn’t get into the main story about the badly polluted creek. Enter Frank Poincelot, a former Buffalo animal control officer. I tracked him down and here is what was cut from the final edit of the main story: Poincelot and his former colleagues were led on a wild four-day hunt for Scajaquada Jack, a four-foot caiman released into the creek in the summer of 2001. The caiman hunt garnered a ton[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Jul 30

2014

Cheektowaga pledges action on Scajaquada

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There is progress to report on Scajaquada Creek. The creek has been badly polluted by the dumping of more than 500 million gallons a year of sewage and untreated stormwater runoff by Buffalo and Cheektowaga. As a result, the Scajaquada is plagued by high bacteria levels , botulism that kills birds and sludge up to five feet deep in parts of the creek bed. Town of Cheektowaga officials, who to this point have dodged questions since our initial report two weeks ago, acknowledged to Dan Telvock of Investigative Post that the dumping is a serious problem that they need to address.[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Jul 28

2014

City Hall ignoring Scajaquada Creek eyesore

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    Despite two weeks of reporting on the badly polluted Scajaquada Creek, the administration of Mayor Byron Brown has yet to clean up the mess near Hoyt Lake, the spot where  five ducks died this past Monday. Reporter Dan Telvock took this photo Saturday. David Comerford, general manager of the Buffalo Sewer Authority,  told Investigative Post last week that it is the responsibility of the Public Works Department to clean up this section of the creek, a hot spot for avian botulism. Apparently Public Works Commissioner Steve Stepniak didn’t get the memo.

Posted 11 years ago

Jul 28

2014

Cheektowaga pols won’t discuss Scajaquada

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Cheektowaga is responsible for dumping more than 300 million gallons of untreated sewage and stormwater runoff in the Scajaquada Creek every year. The state Department of Environmental Conservation ordered town officials to develop a plan to address the problem six years ago, but Cheektowaga has yet to devise an acceptable plan. Against that backdrop, Dan Telvock went to Town Supervisor Mary Holtz seeking an explanation. She has failed to respond to a dozen phone calls and emails and town Council members are no more eager to talk. Here is his complete report, which aired Friday on WGRZ.  

Posted 11 years ago

Jul 24

2014

Disgust and outrage along Scajaquada Creek

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Two state senators are demanding the Department of Environmental Conservation take aggressive action to address sewer overflows that have contaminated Scajaquada Creek. Senators Mark Grisanti and Tim Kennedy, whose districts include the creek, called for action Monday after witnessing a repulsive scene that included trash filled creek water, three dead ducks, and a fourth paralyzed and gasping for air in a pool of garbage and sewage. Grisanti and Kennedy, sickened by what they saw in the creek near Delaware Park’s Hoyt Lake, said they will make it a priority to clean up Scajaquada Creek and advocate for more money to[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Jul 24

2014

State complicit in defiling of Scajaquada Creek

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Way back in 1993 the state Department of Environmental Conversation told the City of Buffalo to dredge Scajaquada Creek to remove decaying human excrement and other sludge that was up to five feet deep in some places. The city refused — and the DEC did nothing. In 2008 the DEC used an enforcement order to force the Town of Cheektowaga to submit a plan to reduce sewer overflows into the creek. The DEC rejected that plan in 2010—and has done nothing since then to force the issue. In the interim, Cheektowaga has dumped more than one billion gallons of raw[...]

Posted 11 years ago

Jul 17

2014

The Scajaquada is a crippled creek

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Gross doesn’t even begin to describe the water in Scajaquada Creek. Municipalities dump more than a half billion gallons of sewage mixed with untreated stormwater into the creek annually. That putrid cocktail has fouled the creek’s water in a variety of ways. Sludge composed of decaying human feces and other contaminants is up to five feet deep in places along the creek bottom. Fecal bacteria is present at levels up to 20 times higher than what’s considered safe for recreational use. Avian botulism, which has paralyzed and eventually killed hundreds, if not thousands of birds over the years, lurks in[...]

Posted 11 years ago