The Suffolk County Water Authority will received $5 million of federal funding to bring public water extension to homes in Calverton within the Town of Brookhaven, some of which have drinking water wells contaminated by toxic chemicals.
The extension 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 Services last year were found to contain PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonic acid) above the 10 parts-per-trillion drinking water standard. Construction on the project is expected to commence later this year, according to water authority officials.
PFOS is a member of a class of chemicals known as PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances), which have been used in a number of industrial and commercial products such as firefighting foam, food packaging and water-resistant clothing, and that studies show may be linked to certain negative health outcomes including increased risk of cancer.
The $5 million will help offset the cost of 21,000-feet of water main to supply 98 homes in the area, SCWA officials said in a press release. The money was earmarked in both chambers of Congress by Sen. Chuck Schumer, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and former-Rep. Lee Zeldin as a part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s branch of the Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending grant program. The money is a part of the federal omnibus spending bill that was 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 to get this project funded,” said Patrick Halpin, chairman of the SCWA Board. “Without the advocacy of Senator Schumer, Senator Gillibrand, and Representative Zeldin the residents of Calverton would be stuck without safe drinking water. The cost for these homes to connect to SCWA would be enormous without federal assistance and in many cases would be prohibitive.”
The extension to the Calverton homes is part of a larger collaborative extension project between the water authority and the Riverhead Water District to provide drinking water to homes in Manorville that have water wells contaminated with similar toxic substances.
The Town of Riverhead also received $2 million through the spending bill for water extension projects in the Manorville and Calverton area. The Town of Southampton also received $5 million for a sewage treatment plant in Riverside.
The Suffolk County Water Authority previously received $5 million through the same program early last year for its Manorville extension project. The Town of Riverhead previously received $3.5 million in federal funds for its Manorville extension project. Last year, both public water suppliers decided to enter an agreement that would allow the water authority to service the Manorville area in Riverhead Town as a part of the extension project.
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