'Bogged down in bureaucracy': Upstate lakes struggle for clean water funding
The state's seven year old septic system reimbursement program has proved inaccessible for some lakeside communities upstate.
So in 2017, when then-Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed legislation creating a rebate program for septic system upgrades, Knight leapt at the opportunity. Created as part of the Clean Water Infrastructure Act, the program promised to reimburse homeowners for up to 50% of the costs (up to $10,000) of replacing antiquated septic systems and cesspools in homes near eligible bodies of water.
“It was a chance to address the problem,” Knight said. “It was scaled to the size of the lake, and it didn’t force people who already had good systems to put out a lot of money. It was right for us. And it was there being offered and promoted by no less than Andrew Cuomo.”
Knight figured Duane Lake would be a perfect candidate for the septic system replacement program. The lake was once populated by small summer cottages which have since been replaced by year-round residences, leaving old and ineffective septic systems to serve large houses. It’s also the uppermost headwater of the Watervliet Reservoir and is classified as a “priority" water body by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
But the DEC denied the lake association's request to enroll — and continued to deny it over the following six years. None of the DEC’s explanations appear to square with the program’s eligibility criteria, Knight said. Every time he questioned one of the reasons for their rejection, agency representatives responded with a new one, until they finally stopped responding at all.
Duane Lake isn’t the only place where local efforts to enroll have been stymied. The DEC has distributed more than two-thirds of the rebate funds to homeowners in Long Island, where environmental advocates say the septic system replacement program has been a godsend. But upstate, some of the self-appointed stewards of New York’s lakes find that bureaucratic hurdles keep the program from living up to its promises.
'A problem for lakefront communities'
Septic systems are designed to do away with sewage as quickly and cleanly as possible. When functioning correctly, they process the wastewater that drains through toilets, sinks and showers and return the filtered liquid to the soil. But when septic systems break down — typically due to age or lack of maintenance — the sewage makes itself known, backing up into homes or contaminating the surrounding environment.
“Septic pollution is a huge issue across the state of New York,” said Rob Hayes, a senior director of clean water for Environmental Advocates NY. “When septic systems get old and fail, they release bacteria and harmful nutrients and lots of other contaminants directly into our groundwater and our surface water.”
Hayes said that “hundreds of thousands” of homes across New York are operating on outdated septic systems. Other homes rely on cesspools, rudimentary underground pits which allow untreated sewage to slowly seep into the soil. But replacing a septic system is a time-consuming and expensive process: planning, excavating and installing a new system can take weeks. The cost of an upgraded model varies depending on its size and location, but it typically runs between $5,000 and $12,000.
As a result, Hayes said, many homeowners put off replacing their septic systems for as long as they can — even when they know they’re past due for an upgrade. That’s especially true in rural, lower-income parts of the state, he added. Paul Simack, whose home is on Plymouth Reservoir in rural Chenango County, has watched this happen among his neighbors.
“This is a problem for lakefront communities,” Simack said. “We live in a disadvantaged community, as noted by the state of New York. People there, when they get a failed septic system, they try to hide it under the table and not face it.”
The septic system replacement program was designed to prevent this problem, incentivizing New Yorkers to keep their septic systems up-to-date by offsetting the cost of replacement. It aims to address septic pollution at the local level: the state designates funds to participating counties, which are then tasked with reviewing applications from homeowners and issuing their rebates.
But to receive any reimbursement, homeowners must live in close proximity to a water body deemed eligible by the DEC. The agency makes that determination based on a list of factors, a spokesman told the Times Union — among them drinking water classification and known pollution due to failing septic systems. Around 600 water bodies are listed as eligible for the program. (The DEC estimates that the state has around 7,500 lakes and ponds, as well as over 70,000 miles of rivers and streams.)
The state webpage detailing the septic replacement program asserts that “the list of eligible water bodies is final,” but also says that the DEC and the state Department of Health “will re-evaluate priority water bodies in future rounds of funding.” The DEC spokesman did not respond to questions about how often water bodies are added to the list or how many have been added since the beginning of the program.
Fighting for funds
Knight has spent years trying to get Duane Lake added to the list, locked in a years-long and largely one-sided war with the DEC. Knight said he was first told that Duane Lake wouldn’t be eligible for funding because its waters were limited to members of the lake association — puzzling, he thought, given that nearby Nassau Lake had the same rules and was able to participate in the program.
DEC officials later advised Knight that Duane Lake should not be used for drinking water in the first place, although Knight says that local soil conditions make it difficult to drill a sufficient well, limiting access to other water supplies. The agency also told him that the lake is too far from eligible Watervliet Reservoir to qualify. Knight argues that this point is irrelevant because Duane Lake flows into the
reservoir and is itself designated an “impaired” water body by the DEC.
The DEC spokesman said that water bodies are ineligible if they either do not meet the program’s listed criteria or have been the subject of a “scientific report that indicates sewering is the most appropriate action.” In Duane Lake’s latest rejection, Knight said DEC officials pointed to a report prepared by a local engineering company, which concluded that installing a centralized sewer system would be the best way to improve the lake's water quality. This further frustrated Knight, who called the report a “sales pitch” for an installation that he said would be prohibitively expensive for members of the lake association.
“This is of the utmost importance to us,” said Steve Janack, a Duane Lake resident. “This is, for many of us, our drinking water. This is our backyard. In order to ensure that people remain healthy and safe, we’re trying to do everything we can. Unfortunately, we’ve run up against this brick wall.”
Simack met a similar wall when he tried to make Plymouth Reservoir eligible for septic system reimbursements. He contacted state and county administrators about enrolling in 2019 and 2023, but was told that the program prioritized impacted water bodies elsewhere in the state. Eventually, he said, he stopped hearing back.
It was frustrating for Simack, who said the program would benefit both his immediate community and the waterways of the broader Northeast — Plymouth Reservoir eventually drains into the Chesapeake Bay, which has long struggled with chemical pollution.
“It gets bogged down in bureaucracy,” Simack said. “I understand why it has to be bogged down, but I don’t get the feeling that they’re paying attention to the needs of these communities.”
Further upstate, residents of Augur Lake in Essex County share his concerns. The small lake feeds into Lake Champlain, just a few miles away from its eastern shore. But while Lake Champlain is on the DEC’s list of eligible water bodies, Augur Lake is not, according to lake association member Noel Cacchio, who has repeatedly tried to enroll it in the program. It’s especially concerning for Cacchio given the absence of statewide laws regarding septic system maintenance — some of the houses on the lake might as well rely on “a tin can in the backyard,” she said.
“I don’t hold out much hope anymore, to be honest,” Cacchio said. “I’m trying to work more on getting regulations in place throughout the town, which I have a little more hope for than us ever getting any septic funding.”
Success on Long Island
It’s a different story down on Long Island, which has received the bulk of the program’s funding. The island has been plagued by toxic algal blooms, contaminating many of its small lakes and ponds, as well as larger bodies like the South Shore and Peconic Estuaries. Certain types of algae can kill off wildlife and make freshwater undrinkable.
The algal blooms thrive on elevated nitrogen levels, which scientists attribute in large part to outdated septic systems in Nassau and Suffolk, two of the island’s four counties. Combined, the two counties have over 400,000 failing cesspools and inadequate septic systems, the DEC spokesman said, impacting the sole source of drinking water for approximately 3 million residents.
The septic system replacement program has been “wonderful” for addressing this, according to Adrienne Esposito, a Long Island-based advocate with Citizens Campaign for the Environment.
“It’s been a success,” Esposito said. “We need to treat our sewage in today’s society. Allowing untreated sewage to just drain into a lake that we swim in and fish from is bizarre and dangerous.”
According to the latest available data from New York's Environmental Facilities Corporation, Suffolk County received more than $60 million of the $90 million that the septic system replacement program allocated throughout the state between March 1, 2018 and Dec. 31. Nassau County ranks second in funding with around $6 million. Of the 52 other participating counties, only five received more than $1 million.
Suffolk County has also undertaken more septic system upgrades than any other county, with 2,229 projects completed in that window. Nassau County, with 151 projects, is the only other county to have completed more than 100 replacements. Eighteen of the participating counties have not yet completed any projects.
Hayes credits the growth of the program in Long Island to widespread public awareness about the problem of septic pollution in the area. Another component is legislation in the region guiding septic system replacement: Suffolk County banned the replacement of cesspools with new cesspools in 2019 and mandated modernized wastewater treatment systems in new construction projects and major renovations beginning in 2021.
Both Hayes and Esposito would like to see the program’s success in Long Island replicated throughout the state, starting with additional funding and publicity.
“The program should expand to include every body of water,” Esposito said. “As the population around water bodies increases, this threat will also increase — so the time to act is now.”
Suffolk County has also undertaken more septic system upgrades than any other county, with 2,229 projects completed in that window. Nassau County, with 151 projects, is the only other county to have completed more than 100 replacements. Eighteen of the participating counties have not yet completed any projects.
Hayes credits the growth of the program in Long Island to widespread public awareness about the problem of septic pollution in the area. Another component is legislation in the region guiding septic system replacement: Suffolk County banned the replacement of cesspools with new cesspools in 2019 and mandated modernized wastewater treatment systems in new construction projects and major renovations beginning in 2021.
Both Hayes and Esposito would like to see the program’s success in Long Island replicated throughout the state, starting with additional funding and publicity.
“The program should expand to include every body of water,” Esposito said. “As the population around water bodies increases, this threat will also increase — so the time to act is now.”
Suffolk County has also undertaken more septic system upgrades than any other county, with 2,229 projects completed in that window. Nassau County, with 151 projects, is the only other county to have completed more than 100 replacements. Eighteen of the participating counties have not yet completed any projects.
Hayes credits the growth of the program in Long Island to widespread public awareness about the problem of septic pollution in the area. Another component is legislation in the region guiding septic system replacement: Suffolk County banned the replacement of cesspools with new cesspools in 2019 and mandated modernized wastewater treatment systems in new construction projects and major renovations beginning in 2021.
Both Hayes and Esposito would like to see the program’s success in Long Island replicated throughout the state, starting with additional funding and publicity.
“The program should expand to include every body of water,” Esposito said. “As the population around water bodies increases, this threat will also increase — so the time to act is now.”
'Hoops and loops'
Even in communities that have had no trouble getting DEC funding, the program hasn’t been without its snags for homeowners. Brian Harkins, who lives on Skaneateles Lake, said it took over a month for him to get reimbursed after he replaced his septic system four years ago.
“If I wasn’t like a dog on a bone, and I wasn’t meticulous about making sure every 't' was crossed and 'i' was dotted, it could have dragged on,” Harkins said. “It was kind of stressful in some ways, but it worked out.”
Marty Hoover, president of the Chenango Lake Property Owners’ Association, reported a similar experience — homeowners on the lake eventually got their rebates, she said, but had to go through “hoops and loops” to do so. As the program enters its eighth year, Hoover would like to see it promoted more widely among eligible lakes upstate, where she said many are unaware the option exists.
The residents of Duane Lake haven’t given up hope that they’ll one day become eligible for funding. Schenectady County is now enrolled in the program, although they’re unable to grant Duane Lake funds without approval from the DEC. Watervliet Mayor Charles V. Patricelli and Guilderland town Supervisor Peter G. Barber have both written letters to the DEC in support of Duane Lake’s inclusion, stressing the impact of the lake's pollution on their towns' water supplies.
State lawmakers, including Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara and state Sens. Neil Breslin and Patricia Fahy, have also contacted the DEC on Duane Lake’s behalf. Santabarbara even introduced a bill in January with the express purpose of adding Duane Lake to the program.
“I wanted to see if we could do anything to help this community,” said Santabarbara, a Schenectady County Democrat. “It’s unclear why they were not included in the program initially. I took a look, and it seems to me that they meet the criteria.”
Knight is hopeful that the combined efforts will be enough to win Duane Lake’s entry into the program in a future round of funding. By this point, the issue has taken on a heightened significance in Duane Lake. They're not just fighting to get a small lake access to relatively elusive state funding, Knight said — they're “righting the unrightable wrong.”
Courtesy of the Albany Times Union.