Rethinking Buffalo Sewer's CSO Long Term Control Plan

As Buffalo Sewer prepares for its second decade of implementation of the approved Combined Sewer Overflow Long Term Control Plan (LTCP), results of a recalibrated hydraulic model, updated Financial Capability Assessment, a cost-benefit analysis of early projects, a deeper understanding of the existing system's design, and increasing recognition of issues of environmental justice and implications of systemic racism and climate change have all driven a re-evaluation of how to achieve the goals of the LTCP while also building a more equitable, inclusive, and resilient city. Buffalo Sewer's approved 2014 LTCP made use of innovative strategies with a focus on Green Infrastructure and Real Time Controlled Smart Sewers. As we move forward into the next phase of the LTCP, we are learning how to implement Green Infrastructure in a more sustainable and maintainable way that also addresses long-standing disinvestment in the existing increasingly aged collection system. We are also finding new and innovative ways to implement Real Time Controlled Smart Sewer technology to take advantage of opportunities created by the historical design of our collection system and the disinvestment in redlined neighborhoods while also creating visible community benefits and simplifying maintenance. This presentation will review the development of the approved LTCP and its components. It will also review the projects completed under that plan and implementation issues experienced to date. It will also discuss how the recalibrated model has impacted the viability of the 2014 LTCP and its components. Additionally, the historical, economic, and climatic conditions of Buffalo and the resultant opportunities, risks, and restrictions that they create will be discussed. Finally, the updated LTCP will be presented. Currently, the updated Financial Capability Analysis is under review with the United States Environmental Protection Agency and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation with final approval expected in late 2021. The Model Recalibration is also under ongoing review by the regulators with approval expected in mid-Fall 2021. Six traditional Smart Sewer Projects have been completed, three additional traditional projects are in bidding or construction phases, and a final project which implements Smart Sewer technology at an existing pumping station is poised to go into operation by October 2021. Three additional traditional Smart Sewer projects have been identified for design during the 2022 Calendar Year, in addition, two next generation Smart Sewer projects have been identified for design during this same period, and several of the projects currently in design and implementation represent a global implementation strategy rather than a more traditional CSO or even waterbody specific strategy. Similarly, on the Green Infrastructure front, RainCheck 1.0 has been completed and it has become increasingly clear that while the demolition of vacant and abandoned homes has created vast swaths of new green space throughout large tracts of Buffalo at limited cost to Buffalo Sewer, the opportunity for further demolitions is limited and at the same time, bioretention cells within the public right of way are costly to construct and maintain and other green infrastructure techniques are more sustainable and create opportunities for other co-benefits without negatively impacting long-term residents in disinvested neighborhoods.