The Riverhead Water District will be able to begin construction this year on a water main extension in Calverton that will provide clean drinking water to homes in Calverton with private wells contaminated or threatened by pollution from the former Grumman plant.
Rep. Nick LaLota on Friday announced $2.25 million in Community Project Funding for a town water district extension to serve 28 homes west of Edwards Avenue in Calverton, along Railroad Avenue, Canoe Lake Drive, River Road and a private road south of River Road.
Known as Extension 95, the project will cost an estimated $5.6 million.
The balance of the funding for the extension comes from a portion of a $5 million grant announced in January 2024 as part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Emerging Contaminants Fund, through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. The 2024 funding was split between Extension 95 and Extension 96, which would serve 45 homes and six industrial properties along Middle Road, Deep Hole Road, Manor Road, Middle Country Road and Twomey Avenue.
Riverhead Water District Superintendent Frank Mancini said he is very proud of landing this funding, which the town pushed hard for.
“Riverhead just did this on our own because these homes are down gradient of a huge PFOS plume that is coming off the southeast side of the [former Grumman] site,” Mancini said in an email. “We always bring this project up at all the Calverton Restoration Advisory Board meetings and worked very closely with LaLota’s team to secure this last bit of funding,” he said.
The Calverton Restoration Advisory Board is established by the U.S. Navy, which owned the Calverton Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant and leased it to Grumman Corporation — later known as Grumman Aerospace and then, after being acquired by Northrop in 1994, Northrop Grumman. After Northrop Grumman vacated the site in 1996, the Navy deeded the 2,900-acre site in Calverton to the Town of Riverhead. The Navy continues to work to clean up soil and groundwater pollution on the site and communicates with the Calverton Restoration Advisory Board, as representatives of the community and local governments.
The Navy has resisted accepting responsibility for off-site groundwater pollution emanating from the Calverton Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant, despite the efforts of local, state and federal elected officials to pressure the Navy to fund projects to bring clean drinking water to residents and businesses where private wells are affected by pollution from the former Grumman site.
“The Navy contributed nothing to this,” Mancini said, referring to the funding.
“Suffolk County families deserve clean drinking water and safe communities, and these federal investments will deliver exactly that,” said LaLota, a Navy veteran.
“From mitigating PFAS contamination in our groundwater to equipping our police departments with modern vehicles and communications equipment, these projects represent targeted, taxpayer-funded solutions to real problems facing Long Island residents,” he said of the 10 community projects which received a total of $11.8 million, thanks to legislation LaLota sponsored, which was passed by both the House and Senate and signed into law by President Donald Trump on Jan. 23.
“Suffolk County families deserve clean drinking water and safe communities, and these federal investments will deliver exactly that,” LaLota said.
The PFAS contamination at the former Grumman site “requires federal responsibility,” LaLota said.
The other community projects advanced by the funding bill were:
$2,266,857 for the Suffolk County Police Department Vehicle Fleet Acquisitions Project
$1,200,000 for the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office Fleet Enhancement Program
$871,701 for the Southold Town Police Department Vehicle Acquisitions Project
$782,100 for the Southampton Town Police Department Mobile Command Center Technology Upgrades Project
$132,857 for the Southold Town Police Department Radio Upgrades Project
$1,250,000 for the Town of Brookhaven Miller Place-Sound Beach Drainage Project
$1,086,400 for the Town of Smithtown PFAS Contamination Water Main & Boundary Extension Project
$1,000,000 for the St. James Sewer Treatment Plant Upgrade Project
$1,000,000 for the Kings Park Outfall Pipe Replacement Project
The survival of local journalism depends on your support.
We are a small family-owned operation. You rely on us to stay informed, and we depend on you to make our work possible. Just a few dollars can help us continue to bring this important service to our community.
Support RiverheadLOCAL today.
