The Suffolk County Water Authority has announced a revised route that moves the proposed transmission line away from Sound Avenue and along Main Road (NY 25).
The revised route, developed after public scoping sessions in 2025, would place the water main exclusively along state and county roads. SCWA said the change shortens the project by one mile, reduces environmental and traffic impacts and moves the expected completion date from 2030 to 2028.
The water authority released a draft environmental impact statement today.
The project is intended to address long-term public water supply concerns in Southold, where SCWA says the thinner, shallower aquifer is vulnerable to saltwater intrusion, surface contamination and growing demand.
SCWA Chairman Charlie Lefkowitz called the project necessary for the long-term sustainability of the North Fork’s water supply.
The project includes a new 7.5-mile, 24-inch transmission line that would carry water to the North Fork while bypassing the Riverhead Water District service area. No connections would be made within the Riverhead Water District, according to SCWA. The plan also includes a new booster station to stabilize water pressure and improve system reliability.
“It protects our local water resources while ensuring we meet the current needs of our communities,” Lefkowitz said in a press release. “This project is a win for the environment, it protects future ratepayers and ensures that we have a sustainable supply of high-quality drinking water for the North Fork.”
SCWA CEO Jeff Szabo said the revised route reflects public input received during the 2025 scoping process.
“This new route allows us to execute the project swiftly while keeping community impacts to an absolute minimum,” Szabo said.
The authority currently operates 60 wells across 18 well fields on the North Fork and serves about 9,500 customers there. Most North Fork wells draw from the Upper Glacial Aquifer, which SCWA says is vulnerable to pesticides, herbicides, rising chloride levels and saltwater intrusion if over-pumped.
Riverhead Supervisor Jerry Halpin said the town was not informed of the revision and he learned of it when the press release was issued Friday morning. He said in a phone interview he is reviewing the route with town staff and will comment when the review is complete.
“Whatever route SCWA proposes, it needs to engage Riverhead, Southold and Southampton Towns as equal partners in this process, not as interested bystanders,” County Legislator Greg Doroski said Friday morning. “Our towns have the local knowledge to weigh these tradeoffs and have real authority to drive water conservation, because a pipeline without conservation just delays the day we run out of water,” he said.
SCWA said the new transmission line would reduce the daily pumping burden on local wells, allowing the aquifer to recover and reducing the likelihood that specialized treatment systems will be needed at existing wellheads.
Construction is expected to take 12 months once final permits are in place, according to SCWA Director of Construction Maintenance Brendan Warner. Warner said the authority plans to stage the work to avoid traffic disruptions during the peak summer and fall months.
SCWA will hold three public hearings on the draft environmental impact statement:
- Wednesday, Aug. 19, at 6 p.m. at SCWA’s facility on Old Riverhead Road in Westhampton Beach
- Thursday, Aug. 20, at 5 p.m. at the Southold Town Recreation Center in Peconic
- Wednesday, Aug. 26, at 4:30 p.m. at the Riverhead Public Library
The draft environmental impact statement is available at www.scwa.com/nfp. Public comments will be accepted through Sept. 11, 2026.
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