North Fork pipeline

Riverhead Town on Tuesday again challenged Suffolk County Water Authority's claimed immunity from local land-use regulation as well as the adequacy of SCWA's environmental study.

At a Riverhead hearing, speakers said the SCWA's Draft Environmental Impact Statement fails to assess traffic, wetlands, school and utility impacts of the preferred Main Road route for the North Fork water main.

The revised route, developed after public scoping sessions in 2025, would place the water main exclusively along state and county roads.

The Suffolk County Water Authority has decided it doesn’t want to ask permission anymore. It doesn’t want to sit across the table from the people who live here, who deal with the traffic, the trenching, the noise, the disruption that lingers long after the ribbon-cutting photos are forgotten

Suffolk County Water Authority sued Riverhead, seeking a court ruling that its North Fork pipeline project is exempt from local zoning.

Suffolk County Water Authority says its North Fork pipeline is exempt from Riverhead zoning as it moves into a full environmental review.

Is the Suffolk County Water Authority subject to local regulations as it runs a 24-inch transmission line through the Riverhead? The town says yes. SCWA takes the opposite view. Now what?

Suffolk County Water Authority will hold hearings on Oct. 7, 8 and 9 to decide whether the balance of public interests makes it immune from local regulation as it runs 24-inch main through Riverhead Town to service Southold customers.

The Suffolk County Water Authority’s proposed North Fork pipeline drew fire from Riverhead officials and residents alike during a tense public hearing at Riverhead Town Hall Tuesday night. 

Skepticism abounded at a public forum convened by Riverhead Town last night to discuss the Suffolk County Water Authority’s plan to run a 24-inch transmission line through the township to boost its supply to customers in the Town of Southold.