Binghamton, NY (WBNG BInghamton) 2011 was a tough year for the Binghamton Johnson City Joint Sewage Treatment Plant--perhaps the toughest in the history of a plant plagued with problems. And the challenges to rebuild it have spilled over into 2012.
Sewage board leaders say they're waiting for Binghamton to start a demolition project to tear down the west wall of the treatment plant. which collapsed last spring. Once that's complete, an engineering firm can come in to assess how the plant needs to be repaired. City officials expect an engineering report to be released at the end of May.
Sewage board members also need to address specific areas of the plant, such as the digester, which were further damaged by September's flood.
"There are cracks in it from the flood and when the cracks were there water was coming in so instead of the being a drying process it's becoming a wetting process and making our materials wetter," says Chairman of the Sewage Board, George Kolba Jr.
The digester removes water from sludge.
Crews eventually take what's left over to a landfill.
With the digester malfunctioning, it's heavier and more costly to transport and dump at the landfill.
Board members need to rearrange funds in the budget to pay to fix the digester.
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