A $6.6 million project is underway to rehabilitate and repair a bulkhead at the Yonkers Wastewater Treatment Plant situated a 1 Fernbrook St. along the Hudson River waterfront.
The bulkhead, which is a steel sheeting wall that separates the plant from the river, was built as an expansion of the facility in 1972. It was constructed on piles driven into the riverbed. Rehabilitation and repair of the wall is periodically required due to age, weathering and corrosion, according to the county.
The treatment plant provides primary and secondary treatment of wastewater generated from portions of southern and western Westchester County. According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the facility currently is permitted to treat from 120 million gallons of sewage a day to 145 million gallons a day, depending on the time of year.
Westchester County Executive George Latimer said the project is part of the continued efforts to rehabilitate or rebuild Westchester”™s aging infrastructure and also helps to create what he described as a more storm-resilient county.
“We know that our climate is changing, we know that Westchester residents thrive when quality construction jobs are bountiful and we know fixing infrastructure saves both lives and resources,” Latimer said.
The work includes the installation of tension rods, anchors and steel plates, prepping and coating of the steel surfaces, concrete repair and backfilling of eroded areas. Most of the work is performed on the side of the wall that faces the river, making access and working conditions complex.
Last June, Latimer, Congressman Jamaal Bowman and County Legislator Jose Alvarado held a news conference at the plant to advocate for federal funding to help pay for long-term infrastructural repairs at the plant, mainly mitigation of odors. The county had sponsored an odor control study by consultant CDM Smith that was completed in June 2019. Based on the findings of the report, the county concluded it would take $69.1 million in federal funding to address long-term repairs to the plant”™s odor control systems.
The original Yonkers plant dates from 1931. It underwent a number of expansions and upgrades over the years, with significant expansions in 1961 and 1979. On Oct. 29, 2012, the plant was knocked out when Super Storm Sandy hit. The plant”™s infrastructure was damaged and the staff immediately began pumping out flood water and making repairs to damaged equipment. It took 22 days to restore the plant to a point where it again was running at its permitted capacity.
To tell the truth, I am so glad to hear that such a wonderful project will be implemented at the wastewater treatment plant in Yonkers because I think that it is a great breakthrough and a huge step to contribute to improving our environment and infrastructure. I think that such projects have a great importance in our world and the government needs to invest more money in them, contributing to improving the standard of living. Of course, fixing infrastructure is a global process which affects different factors and, primarily, saves lives which is really important. It is inspirational when the government is not indifferent to such things and when attention is paid to them because only such actions can make our reality better, contributing to thriving both people and county.
Yonkers is going thru a tremendous growth spirt from 2020 to 2030 the city is going to allow developers to add over 6 thousand apartments on the West Side of the City. This with development combined with more development in the towns and villages that also flow into this plant will soon bring it to capacity. So this project will only be a small step in the protection of our clean water.