The Cayuga County Water and Sewer Authority has suspended work on the proposed Cayuga Lake Protection Plan sewer project following voters’ rejection of a referendum that would have created the sewer district needed to move the project forward.
At its July 1 meeting, the authority’s board directed staff to halt all actions and expenditures related to the project, which would have extended municipal sewer service to properties along the Cayuga Lake shoreline in the towns of Ledyard and Genoa.
The decision comes after voters in the proposed sewer district rejected the measure in a June referendum.
The $33 million project called for installing approximately nine miles of sewer line extending south from the Village of Aurora to the Cayuga County line. The system would have served more than 400 lakefront properties that currently rely on individual septic systems or holding tanks for wastewater disposal.
The authority said the project was initiated at the request of lakefront property owners and with support from Cayuga County health officials, who had expressed concerns that many existing wastewater systems do not meet current standards and could negatively impact Cayuga Lake’s water quality.
CCWSA Chairman Robert Shea said the authority first evaluated the project’s feasibility before developing financing options and seeking state and federal funding. Those efforts were intended to provide residents with information about project costs, financing and implementation before the referendum.
Before the vote, the authority had secured grants covering half of the project’s cost, along with a zero-percent interest loan through the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation for the remaining balance.
Shea called the funding package “rare for a public infrastructure project” and thanked the Environmental Facilities Corporation for its financial support.
While expressing disappointment with the referendum’s outcome, Shea said the authority has always recognized that the decision to move forward rested with residents in the proposed district. He added that the authority will continue its mission of providing water and sewer infrastructure that protects public health and the environment.
