A “precautionary advisory” will remain in effect in the tidal portion of the Peconic River until further notice, Suffolk County health officials announced yesterday evening.
The Suffolk County Department of Health Services on Dec. 15 issued an advisory to residents to take precautions before recreating on the Peconic River east of Grangebel Park due to the possible residual effects of partially treated wastewater discharged from the Riverhead sewage treatment plant.
Residents should avoid contact with waters in this portion of the river until permanent upgrades at the plant are completed and the plant is operating adequately as designed, the health department said. Residents are advised to keep children and pets away from the area, as well.
If contact with the water does occur, residents should wash hands after swimming or recreating in the water, especially before eating, and shower when done recreating for the day to wash off water and dirt. Seek medical attention if after exposure you experience nausea, vomiting or diarrhea; skin, eye or throat irritation, or allergic reactions or breathing difficulties.
The town’s wastewater treatment facility is currently undergoing a major upgrade, disrupting normal operations and processes at the facility, and that resulted in the discharge of partially treated sewage waste. A sample of the river water in downtown Riverhead earlier this month contained coliform bacteria levels four times the plant’s permit discharge limit, according to officials.
In a Dec. 15 interview, Riverhead Sewer District Superintendent Michael Reichel described corrective measures that were put in place at the plant to prevent that from happening. The plant’s liquid effluent discharge to the Peconic River, via an outfall pipe just west of the Cross River Drive bridge, have not since exceeded interim permit limits put in place by the State Department of Environmental Conservation during the upgrade, he said last week.
“The situation improved significantly,” the county health department said in yesterday’s press release. “However, a recent sample showed elevated levels of coliform bacteria, and there is potential that plant operations could be further disrupted as the plant proceeds with upgrades.”
The corrective measures include disinfection with high doses of chlorine, Reichel told RiverheadLOCAL last week. Disinfection is normally done with UV light, but the UV lights were rendered ineffective because of the cloudiness of the wastewater after one of the plant’s two sequencing batch reactors was taken offline for the upgrade, Reichel explained.
The health department said last night that the cloudiness of the discharge has abated, for now.
“Any possible future disruptions will be reported by the facility, but in the meantime, a precautionary advisory will remain in place,” the health department said.
The $24 million upgrade is scheduled to be completed by springtime, Reichel told RiverheadLOCAL during a tour of the facility in June. The health department said yesterday it will reassess the situation once the upgrade is completed.
Curious about how the sewage treatment plant works? Watch this video:
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