ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Monroe County officials are providing insight after an alert sent out from New York State revealed that nearly 120,000 gallons of sewage were dumped into the Genesee River Friday.
120,000 gallons of sewage discharged into Genesee River in Henrietta due to rain, snow melt
Monroe County says “yes” — this is nothing out of the ordinary when we see rains falling after heavy snow melt. They say while this isn’t always the route they want to take, protecting public health and homeowners remains the priority.
“If a homeowner has an unprotected basement, or has an open floor drain, the sewage can back up,” Monroe County Director of Environmental Services Mike Garland told News 8. “The homeowners should have plumbing that that is installed in a way that protects their basement, but some homeowners don’t. They have unprotected basements; they have open floor drains. And so, if the sewer system becomes too full, it can back up into folks’ basements.”
Garland said while the sewer system in Monroe County is remarkable, it’s not designed to handle every storm event that may occur.