The Suffolk County Water Board will receive $5 million in federal funding to allow public water service to Calverton homes in the town of Brookhaven, some of which have drinking water wells contaminated by toxic chemicals.
The expansion will benefit neighborhoods in the South River Road area south of Peconic Lake, where drinking water wells tested by the Suffolk County Department of Health last year contained PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonic acid) above 10 parts per trillion water standard. According to representatives of the water authority, construction of the project is expected to start later this year.
PFOS belongs to a class of chemicals known as PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) that have been used in a range of industrial and commercial products such as fire-fighting foam, food packaging and waterproof clothing, and studies may show this with certain negative health consequences associated, including an increased risk of cancer.
The $5 million will help offset the cost of 21,000 feet of water line to service 98 homes in the area, SCWA officials said in a news release. The money was raised in both houses of Congress by Sen. Chuck Schumer, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and former Rep. Lee Zeldin as part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s branch of the Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending program. The money is part of the federal omnibus spending bill signed into law by President Joe Biden on Dec. 29.
“The Suffolk County Water Authority is deeply grateful to our representatives in Washington for their efforts in securing funding for this project,” said Patrick Halpin, SCWA Board Chair. “Without the advocacy of Senator Schumer, Senator Gillibrand and Representative Zeldin, Calverton residents would be left without clean drinking water. Without government support, the cost of connecting these households to SCWA would be enormous and in many cases prohibitive.”
The Calverton Homes expansion is part of a larger joint expansion project between the Water Board and the Riverhead Water District to provide potable water to homes in Manorville whose water wells are contaminated with similar toxic substances.
The City of Riverhead also received $2 million through the spending bill for water enhancement projects in the Manorville and Calverton areas. The City of Southampton also received $5 million for a sewage treatment plant in Riverside.
The Suffolk County Water Board received $5 million for its Manorville expansion project through the same program early last year. The City of Riverhead previously received $3.5 million in federal funding for its Manorville expansion project. Last year, both public water companies decided to enter into an agreement that would allow the water board to serve the Manorville area of Riverhead Town as part of the expansion project.
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