Sanitary Sewer Collection System

Chemung County's wastewater collection system is run by two separate districts called the Chemung County Elmira Sewer District and the Chemung County Sewer District 1.

The system contains over 270 miles of sewer mains ranging in size from 2 to 66 inches in diameter and 12,000 manholes. Located throughout the city and surrounding area are 33 pump stations that pump wastewater to the plant via six main interceptors. Seven metering stations measure wastewater volume from monitoring points in the collection system.

Our collection system serves approximately 80% of the 35,000 households and over 90% of all businesses in Chemung County. Jointly, they are permitted for 24.2 million gallons of wastewater per day in order to meet current state and federal discharge requirements.

Chemung County Elmira Sewer District

The Chemung County Elmira Sewer District services the City of Elmira, the Town of Elmira, and portions of the Town of Southport. Its treatment facility, located on Milton Street, was constructed in 1987. It was designed to treat 12 MGD and utilizes a trickling filter/solids contact treatment technology. The collection network encompasses roughly 4,300 acres and services approximately 45,000 people.

Chemung County Sewer District 1

Chemung County Sewer District Number 1 serves an area directly north of the City of Elmira including the Village of Elmira Heights, the majority of the Village of Horseheads, and portions of the Towns of Elmira, Horseheads, Veteran, and Big Flats. The Sewer District Number 1 collection network consists of approximately 100 miles of mainline sewer that discharges to a trickling filter facility located on Lake Street that was constructed in 1962 and upgraded in 1986. The plant is designed to treat 12.2 MGD.